Comparative Study of Suhrawardi (Sheikhe Eshraq) and Bergson's Philosophical Bases and their Educational Implications

Suhrawardi and Bergson are from those groups of philosophers who paid a lot of attention to intuition. In this research, it is tried to deduce the educational implications of their philosophical bases. Studying the ontological, anthropological, axiological and epistemological bases of Bergson's philosophy, it is shown that time, evolution, intuition and change are basic concepts in his philosophy. But in the other side light has owned a particular position in Suhrawardi's philosophy. Although, both of them emphasized on individual will and intuition, but they had different views about God and human. While Suhrawardi discussed various forces, Bergson refers to the relation between brain and mind. Bergson's God is always under the change and evolution but God that Suhrawardi talked about is transcendental and does not accept any change. In epistemology, both of them strongly believed in intuition but they asserted that thinking is necessary for cognition. For Suhrawardi, the final goal of education is the achievement of supreme perfection - reaching up to God - and for Bergson it is to educate a logical-intuitive person. Educational principles which are deduced from Bergson ideas include: change, evolution, freedom, gradation. Educational principles which are deduced from Suhrawardi's are known as escape from neglect, self-esteem, patience and self-cognition. Intuition and thinking have great importance in the educational methods inferred from their thoughts.