Mysticism, Meaning and Politics

One of the most important factors influencing the authenticity of the political subject and the civil action of recent mankind is the issue of the ontological meaning of humanity and the nihilism of the modern world. Some political thinkers concentrating on the relationship between the meaning of life and political action in humans seek to justify this meaning through classical thought, particularly Greek art and virtuosity. While analyzing the incompatibility of classical art and virtue with modern ontology, this article will elaborate on some implications of Islamic mysticism in the wisdom of Attar. The conclusion of the discussion presented in this paper is that although Attar's individualist mysticism related to "political theory" seems the refusal at least from the viewpoint of some scholars, it has some meaningful ramifications for the genuine presence of the political subject and the negation of ideological and mass politics at the semantic level.