From the Arab Perspective: Contemporary Iranian and Arab Thinkers (III) — Ahmad Fardid: The Anti-Philosophy Philosopher
Document Type : pajoohesh
Authors
10.22081/jap.2025.79090
Abstract
This article analyzes the thought of Ahmad Fardid, one of the most controversial figures in modern Iranian philosophy. Although Fardid called himself a philosopher, he developed unique concepts such as “Gharbzadegi” (Westoxication) and presented a distinctive synthesis of Martin Heidegger’s philosophy and Ibn ʿArabī’s mysticism. Drawing upon his deep knowledge of linguistics and his extraordinary ability to coin new terms, he created a complex and ambiguous discourse that influenced Iran’s intellectual climate for half a century. Through an examination of Fardid’s life, the formation of the “Fardidian Circle,” and his central ideas—such as ḥikmat-i unsī (“intimative wisdom”) and the “science of historical names”—the article shows how Fardid, by fusing disparate epistemological systems, adopted a radical stance against Western civilization, modernity, the humanities, democracy, and human rights. His harsh judgments often led him to accuse both Eastern and Western philosophers alike of being afflicted with Westoxication. Finally, by briefly comparing Fardid’s views with those of the Moroccan thinker Ṭāhā ‛Abd al-Raḥmān, the study concludes that Fardid may best be described as a “philosopher of anti-philosophy”—a thinker endowed with exceptional linguistic genius but whose ideas lacked the logical and rational coherence essential to philosophical thought. This article has been translated into Persian with the author’s permission.
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