the foundations and consequences of suhrawardi’s theory of imagination

the problem of “imagination”, as raised by muslimphilosophers, has several epistemic consequences insubjects as diverse as ontology, prophecy,conceptualization and the functions of art. inilluminationist philosophy of suhrawardi, moreover, bearsthe topic of imagination a correlation to other subjects. ofthe foundations of suhrawardi's processing of the theoryof imagination, the most prominent is the principle ofvision, which he has developed in some positions, andbased on which he has considered imagination as theillumination of the soul. apart from intuitive proofs,suhrawardi's major argument for illumationist imaginationis the refutation of manifold cognitive faculties. it is basedon this refutation that he devotes an echelon of theuniverse to suspended archetypes (incorporeal forms). herejects the affinity between sensual and imaginativeperception.