Abstract : This study addresses the influence of Russian religious thought on the French philosopher and Islamicist Henry Corbin (1903-1978). In the 1930s, Corbin came into contact with religious thinkers of the Russian emigration in Paris, particularly Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948), who had an important role in his critical reception of contemporary German philosophy and theology. In 1939, Corbin moved to Istanbul where, parallel to his work on the first critical edition of the writings of the Iranian philosopher Shahab al-Din al-Suhrawardi (1155-1191), he deepened his knowledge of Byzantine theology and translated some of the writings of the Russian theologian Fr. Sergius Bulgakov (1871-1944). Corbin’s post-war writings thus contain important references to Russian thinkers such as Berdyaev, Bulgakov, Aleksey Khomiakov (1804-1860), Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881), Konstantin Leontiev (1831-1891), and Vasily Rozanov (1856-1919). These thinkers had a unique role in Corbin’s ecumenical project. He was indeed convinced that Russian Orthodoxy has an important role in mediating between East and West, Christianity and Islam. Until now, there has been no attempt to study the Russian connection in Corbin’s thought. The present work explores this influence as reflected in the themes of East and West, Sophiology, Divine humanity, eschatology, angelology, and Orthodox iconography. In the process, it sheds light on the sources of Corbin’s philosophical positions, interest in certain themes, and choice of terminology.

Résumé : Cette étude traite de l’influence de la pensée religieuse russe sur le philosophe et islamologue français Henry Corbin (1903-1978). Dans les années 1930, Corbin prit contact avec des penseurs religieux issus de l’émigration russe à Paris ; en particulier avec Nicolas Berdiaev (1874-1948) qui eût un rôle important dans sa critique de la philosophie et la théologie allemandes contemporaines. En 1939, Corbin s’installa à Istanbul où, parallèlement à son travail d’édition des Å“uvres du philosophe iranien Shahab al-Din al-Suhrawardi (1155-1191), il approfondit ses connaissances en théologie byzantine et traduisit certains écrits du P. Serge Boulgakov (1871-1944). Nous retrouvons ainsi des références importantes à des penseurs russes, tels Berdiaev, Boulgakov, Alexeï Khomiakov (1804-1860), Fiodor Dostoïevski (1821-1881), Constantin Leontiev (1831-1891), Vassili Rozanov (1856-1919), dans les écrits d’après-guerre de Corbin. Ces mêmes penseurs eurent un rôle unique dans la vision Å“cuménique de Corbin. Ce dernier fut en effet convaincu que l’Orthodoxie russe a un rôle médiateur à jouer entre l’Orient et l’Occident, le Christianisme et l’Islam. À ce jour, aucune étude s’intéressant au philosophe n’avait élucidé cette influence. C’est pourquoi, le travail entrepris ici a pour but de combler cette lacune à travers divers thèmes, tous traités en tenant compte de cette même influence : l’Orient et l’Occident, la sophiologie, la divino-humanité, l’eschatologie, l’angélologie et l’iconographie orthodoxe. Cette étude met l’accent sur les sources des positions philosophiques de Corbin, sa prédilection pour certains sujets, ainsi que son répertoire lexical.

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From 1933 and for a period of almost seventy years, Italy's Lake Maggiore region was the gathering place for some of the world's foremost philosophers. Once a year, illustrious thinkers such as Carl Jung, Erich Neumann, Mircea Eliade, D.T. Suzuki, and Adolph Pormann gathered there for Eranos - a meeting of the minds for elite intellectuals. Hans Hakl presents the only complete study of what is arguably the single most important gathering of scholars in the twentieth century. Eranos chronicles the golden years of Jung, Corbin, Eliade, and Scholem, tracing the roots of the Ascona movement in Theosophy, its later branches, and many lesser-known but no less fascinating figures. Distilling decades of archival research and interviews with Eranos participants, Hakl illuminates the trialogue of religion, esotericism, and scholarship that began with Eranos and continues to the present day. This finely crafted history shows how Eranos played an important counterpart to the dominant spiritual and intellectual history of the twentieth century by encouraging freedom of thought and radicality. Detailing the development and influence of a movement that set the course of contemporary philosophical thought, Eranos is a landmark volume that will draw readers interested in the history of ideas, psychology, religious and cultural studies, Jewish and Islamic studies, the history of science, mysticism, and the development of new age religions.

El presente ensayo se propone como parte de una arqueología acerca de la gubernamentalidad en el islam. Comenzando por identificar la asimilación quránica entre el Ángel Gabriel y el Espíritu Santo, sostengo que la mística islámica medieval habría desarrollado enteramente tal asimilación situándola como la operación a través de la cual se habría espiritualizado al Ángel para hacer de éste no un simple servidor de Dios que revela exotéricamente el mensaje divino, sino también, un conductor que, a través de una enseñanza espiritual, conduciría el alma del hombre hacia su salvación (la divinización del hombre). En este sentido, el Espíritu-Ángel constituiría el operador de un gobierno de sí que, como tal, desafía la formalización propuesta por la jurisprudencia (fiqh). 

This essay is the first part of an arqueology on governmentality in islam. Identifying the quran´s assimilation of angel Gabriel and the Holy Ghost I think that islamic medieval mystic develop a spiritualization of the angel where pneumatology and angelology seems to be the same, because the angel is not a simple server of God but a manager of man´s soul. In this way the Ghost-Angel would be consider as a dispositiv of soul´s salvation (the divinization of men) and the condition of a government of itself. That´s why it challenges the formalization proposed by the islamic law (fiqh).