Henry Corbin’s Creative Approach to the Shiite Tradition

This article discusses some aspects of Henry Corbin’s engagement with theShiite tradition. This will be achieved primarily on the basis of four thematiccomplexes. First, the basic concern of Corbin’s work will be outlined ingeneral; then his phenomenological-hermeneutic method will be discussed.Subsequently, Corbin’s creative understanding of tradition will beilluminated and the typology of Shiite spirituality, which can bereconstructed from his works, will be presented. Only against thisbackground the question can be answered, what Corbin saw in the Shia andwhy he was attracted to Shiite religiosity in such an extraordinary way.

Henry Corbin’s Creative Approach to the Shiite Tradition Keywords:

Henry Corbin , Shiite spirituality , tradition and recreation , Phenomenology , hermeneutics