Volume 18, Issue 69 (2025)
LCQ 2025, 18(69): 1-37 |
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baloo F, Mirdar Rezaei M. Mahmoud Homan’s Philosophical Reflections on the Nature and Coordinates of Poetry. LCQ 2025; 18 (69) :1-37
URL: http://lcq.modares.ac.ir/article-29-76694-en.html
URL: http://lcq.modares.ac.ir/article-29-76694-en.html
1- Farzad Balu Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Mazandaran University, Babolsar, Iran. , f.baloo@umz.ac.ir
2- Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Gilan University, Rasht, Iran
2- Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Gilan University, Rasht, Iran
Abstract: (203 Views)
Contrary to the Western tradition, which has long occupied the minds and language of some philosophers with an irreconcilable conflict between philosophy and poetry, in our tradition, although philosophy is often mentioned as a curse, our philosophers have frequently maintained a positive attitude toward poetry. Among them, in the contemporary period, a philosopher named Mahmoud Homan stands out. This research examines and analyzes Homan’s views on poetry and related issues using a descriptive-analytical method—a topic that has been overlooked in contemporary research. The results of this research show that in his first intellectual period, Homan, inspired by the achievements of Western philosophers (Kant and Schopenhauer) and Iranian-Islamic philosophers (Shams Qays Roziy), as well as his own reflections on the nature and essence of poetry, considered rhythm, rhyme, and meter essential. From Shams Qays, he incorporates fantasy, expanding it conceptually with influences from Kant and Schopenhauer, while also adding the two conditions of grace and brevity. It is clear that this definition of poetry aligns more closely with the atmosphere of classical poetry. Additionally, he presents thoughtful observations about the cause of poetry’s effect in relation to poetic elements, the poet’s characteristics, the semantic foundations of descriptive and symbolic poetry, and a philosophical analysis of the power of imagination, among other topics. Following Kant, Homan does not attribute epistemological dimensions to poetry. However, in his second period of thought, Homan, influenced by Husserlian phenomenology, revisits his earlier definition of poetry with a focus on contemporary poetry, excluding features such as rhyme and meter as essential elements. Instead, he introduces a subjective-objective aspect to the beauty of the poem.
Extended Abstract
Regarding the essence of poetry-particularly from a philosophical perspective-extensive discussions have taken place since ancient times, from Plato (in The Republic) and Aristotle (Poetics) to modern thinkers like Heidegger (Being and Time). In Iran, too, intellectuals spanning from early figures such as Avicenna (in the introduction to the ninth art of the logic section of The Book of Healing) and Shams Qays Roziy (Al-Mu’jam fi Ma’ayir Ash’ar al-’Ajam) to contemporary scholars have sought to define the nature of poetry. Among the philosophers of the modern era who addressed the question ”What is poetry?” from a philosophical standpoint was Mahmoud Hooman (1908–1980). A chemical engineer, writer, and professor at the Universities of Tehran, Tarbiat Moallem, and Tabriz, Hooman earned his doctorate in philosophy from the Sorbonne University in France.
Alongside philosophical and historical books (such as History of Philosophy, Philosophical Lectures, Ancient History of Iran, The Mongol Invasion of Iran, etc.) that Hooman authored, he has two important books in the field of literature in which he presents valuable discussions regarding the nature and characteristics of poetry. The first book is titled Hafez, in which Hooman-particularly in its first section (“What Does Hafez Say?”)-poses and elaborates on topics such as: What is poetry?, Who is a poet?, What is the reason for the impact of poetry?, and so on. The other book is What is Poetry?, which is essentially a dialogue concerning “the essence of poetry” between Hooman and one of his students, Ismail Khoei. In this book, published several years after the previous work (Hafez), some of Hooman’s views on poetry have changed.
The present study, written in a descriptive-analytical manner and utilizing library resources, seeks to examine and analyze Hooman’s views-as one of the prominent contemporary thinkers and philosophers-regarding the nature and essence of poetry.
In a general classification, Hooman’s views on ”what is poetry”-can be divided into two sections-or, more accurately, into two distinct intellectual periods. In the first intellectual period, Hooman’s perception of the nature of poetry is organized through a combination of literary and philosophical viewpoints rooted in Persian literary tradition and the Western philosophical tradition. Inspired by and under the influence of Shams Qays, Kant, and Schopenhauer (or Schopenhoer, as he himself put it), he seeks to answer the age-old question ”what is poetry?”-though he conditions this definition with two requirements: ”grace” and ”brevity”. Hooman derives meter, rhyme, and symmetry from Shams Qays; the quality of being imaginative (in a conceptually expanded sense) from Kant and Schopenhauer; and he himself adds the two conditions of grace and brevity. In his view, the distinctiveness of poetry depends on the presence of all these features in speech. The absence of any of these features causes the poetic quality to fade, giving rise to other literary forms-namely, versified speech and artificial speech.
In the second intellectual period, Hooman-revising his views on the nature and essence of poetry with a broader perspective on contemporary poetry-removes features such as rhyme and symmetry from the essential components of poetry. In this new approach, he argues that knowledge of poetic rules and devices (and consequently possessing rhythm, specifically metrical rhythm or bahr), “having rhyme,” and “having equal parts” are no longer necessary conditions or inherent features of poetry. In his revised understanding, rhythm now signifies musicality [آهنگ], standing in contrast to the Greek concept of taktos-meaning “according to a fixed and specific rule and system”-which largely corresponds to “meter” in its traditional sense. Through this redefinition, Hooman ultimately concludes that poetry is melodic, short, graceful, and imaginative speech. During this second intellectual period, Hooman demonstrates a stronger inclination toward Husserlian phenomenology. Rather than emphasizing the language-centered aspects of poetry (as the Formalists do), he prioritizes its intellectual and meaning-centered dimensions, considering them fundamental to poetic expression.
Undoubtedly, within the body of research on poetry, Hooman’s reflections on the nature and constituent elements of poetry stand-if not unparalleled-as exceptionally rare when compared to the views of contemporary Iranian writers and scholars. Occupying a distinct historical position, he attempts to utilize history as a generative source for data concerning poetic definition, subsequently engaging in philosophical inquiry both in defining poetry and explicating its general principles.
While it is true that during his first intellectual period he was profoundly influenced-primarily by Kant and secondarily by Schopenhauer-his incorporation of features such as conciseness and grace as fundamental pillars of poetry enables him to transcend the formalistic constraints of Kant’s approach. Instead, he emphasizes how poetry is expressed and its underlying meaning. Consequently, symbolic texts permitting multiple interpretations are accorded greater value than panegyrics and odes.
In his second intellectual period, Hooman’s evaluation of beauty and definition of poetry undergo a significant shift. He abandons Kant’s subjective perspective, adopting instead a Husserlian phenomenological approach that acknowledges the interdependence of subjective and objective dimensions in the poet-audience relationship, as well as in judgments of beauty and poetic definition. This represents a departure from his earlier definition, aiming to establish a more expansive framework capable of assessing both classical and contemporary Persian poetry.
Within the historical context of poetic definition in our tradition, Hooman emerges as one of the few thinkers to construct a philosophical-intellectual system capable of artistically illuminating poetry’s multifaceted and often concealed dimensions-a system that remains relevant for contemporary poetry criticism and research. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that Hooman’s poetic theory was inevitably shaped by his historical context. The definition of poetry has since broadened, with corresponding shifts in evaluative criteria and foundational principles. For instance, his meaning-centric perspective may not fully align with certain poetic movements, such as Barahani’s language-oriented poetry or various postmodern poetic trends.
Extended Abstract
Regarding the essence of poetry-particularly from a philosophical perspective-extensive discussions have taken place since ancient times, from Plato (in The Republic) and Aristotle (Poetics) to modern thinkers like Heidegger (Being and Time). In Iran, too, intellectuals spanning from early figures such as Avicenna (in the introduction to the ninth art of the logic section of The Book of Healing) and Shams Qays Roziy (Al-Mu’jam fi Ma’ayir Ash’ar al-’Ajam) to contemporary scholars have sought to define the nature of poetry. Among the philosophers of the modern era who addressed the question ”What is poetry?” from a philosophical standpoint was Mahmoud Hooman (1908–1980). A chemical engineer, writer, and professor at the Universities of Tehran, Tarbiat Moallem, and Tabriz, Hooman earned his doctorate in philosophy from the Sorbonne University in France.
Alongside philosophical and historical books (such as History of Philosophy, Philosophical Lectures, Ancient History of Iran, The Mongol Invasion of Iran, etc.) that Hooman authored, he has two important books in the field of literature in which he presents valuable discussions regarding the nature and characteristics of poetry. The first book is titled Hafez, in which Hooman-particularly in its first section (“What Does Hafez Say?”)-poses and elaborates on topics such as: What is poetry?, Who is a poet?, What is the reason for the impact of poetry?, and so on. The other book is What is Poetry?, which is essentially a dialogue concerning “the essence of poetry” between Hooman and one of his students, Ismail Khoei. In this book, published several years after the previous work (Hafez), some of Hooman’s views on poetry have changed.
The present study, written in a descriptive-analytical manner and utilizing library resources, seeks to examine and analyze Hooman’s views-as one of the prominent contemporary thinkers and philosophers-regarding the nature and essence of poetry.
In a general classification, Hooman’s views on ”what is poetry”-can be divided into two sections-or, more accurately, into two distinct intellectual periods. In the first intellectual period, Hooman’s perception of the nature of poetry is organized through a combination of literary and philosophical viewpoints rooted in Persian literary tradition and the Western philosophical tradition. Inspired by and under the influence of Shams Qays, Kant, and Schopenhauer (or Schopenhoer, as he himself put it), he seeks to answer the age-old question ”what is poetry?”-though he conditions this definition with two requirements: ”grace” and ”brevity”. Hooman derives meter, rhyme, and symmetry from Shams Qays; the quality of being imaginative (in a conceptually expanded sense) from Kant and Schopenhauer; and he himself adds the two conditions of grace and brevity. In his view, the distinctiveness of poetry depends on the presence of all these features in speech. The absence of any of these features causes the poetic quality to fade, giving rise to other literary forms-namely, versified speech and artificial speech.
In the second intellectual period, Hooman-revising his views on the nature and essence of poetry with a broader perspective on contemporary poetry-removes features such as rhyme and symmetry from the essential components of poetry. In this new approach, he argues that knowledge of poetic rules and devices (and consequently possessing rhythm, specifically metrical rhythm or bahr), “having rhyme,” and “having equal parts” are no longer necessary conditions or inherent features of poetry. In his revised understanding, rhythm now signifies musicality [آهنگ], standing in contrast to the Greek concept of taktos-meaning “according to a fixed and specific rule and system”-which largely corresponds to “meter” in its traditional sense. Through this redefinition, Hooman ultimately concludes that poetry is melodic, short, graceful, and imaginative speech. During this second intellectual period, Hooman demonstrates a stronger inclination toward Husserlian phenomenology. Rather than emphasizing the language-centered aspects of poetry (as the Formalists do), he prioritizes its intellectual and meaning-centered dimensions, considering them fundamental to poetic expression.
Undoubtedly, within the body of research on poetry, Hooman’s reflections on the nature and constituent elements of poetry stand-if not unparalleled-as exceptionally rare when compared to the views of contemporary Iranian writers and scholars. Occupying a distinct historical position, he attempts to utilize history as a generative source for data concerning poetic definition, subsequently engaging in philosophical inquiry both in defining poetry and explicating its general principles.
While it is true that during his first intellectual period he was profoundly influenced-primarily by Kant and secondarily by Schopenhauer-his incorporation of features such as conciseness and grace as fundamental pillars of poetry enables him to transcend the formalistic constraints of Kant’s approach. Instead, he emphasizes how poetry is expressed and its underlying meaning. Consequently, symbolic texts permitting multiple interpretations are accorded greater value than panegyrics and odes.
In his second intellectual period, Hooman’s evaluation of beauty and definition of poetry undergo a significant shift. He abandons Kant’s subjective perspective, adopting instead a Husserlian phenomenological approach that acknowledges the interdependence of subjective and objective dimensions in the poet-audience relationship, as well as in judgments of beauty and poetic definition. This represents a departure from his earlier definition, aiming to establish a more expansive framework capable of assessing both classical and contemporary Persian poetry.
Within the historical context of poetic definition in our tradition, Hooman emerges as one of the few thinkers to construct a philosophical-intellectual system capable of artistically illuminating poetry’s multifaceted and often concealed dimensions-a system that remains relevant for contemporary poetry criticism and research. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that Hooman’s poetic theory was inevitably shaped by his historical context. The definition of poetry has since broadened, with corresponding shifts in evaluative criteria and foundational principles. For instance, his meaning-centric perspective may not fully align with certain poetic movements, such as Barahani’s language-oriented poetry or various postmodern poetic trends.
Article Type: Original Research |
Subject:
Philosophy and Literature
Received: 2024/08/23 | Accepted: 2025/05/21 | Published: 2025/02/28
Received: 2024/08/23 | Accepted: 2025/05/21 | Published: 2025/02/28
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