Global Philosophy Research Interest Group Talk (Sayeh Meisami, Dayton)
Thursday April 2, 2026, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
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The Global Philosophy Research Interest Group is delighted to welcome as guest speaker Sayeh Meisami, a professor of Philosophy at the University of Dayton. Dr. Meisami has published several books and articles in the fields of philosophy and religion. She is the author of Mulla Sadra (2013), Knowledge and Power in the Philosophies of Ḥamīd al-Dīn Kirmānī and Mullā Ṣadrā Shīrāzī (2018), and Nasir al-Din Tusi: A Philosopher for All Seasons (2019). In line with her interdisciplinary interests, her most recent articles demonstrate the significance of poetic techniques of thinking and writing in later Islamic philosophy and sufism, and her ongoing research is on the continuity of mythological and philosophical discourses in the Persianate context.
Talk Title
Poetic Thinking and the Divergent Philosophies of Rumi and Heidegger
Talk Abstract
The talk is a critical analysis of Martin Heidegger’s engagement with “poetic thinking” by comparing it to that of Rumi’s. The comparison aims to investigate how a poetic thinker’s historical, cultural, and lived experiences fundamentally shape the ethical and sociopolitical outcomes of the discourses they create in their philosophies. I attempt to demonstrate that Heidegger correctly considers poetic thinking as a wholesome conflict between conceptualization and experiential finding that is essential to authentic human experience. This is exemplified by his reading of German lyrical voices, such as Hölderlin, that is conditioned by Eurocentrism and German exceptionalism. I argue that both Heidegger and Rumi are great at poetic thinking and for this reason their starkly different lived experiences lead them to diverging directions: Heidegger’s poetic thinking unleashes the “will to power”, and Rumi’s poetic thinking that is grounded in his experience as a multi-cultural immigrant and a lover gives rise to the “will to love.” I will ultimately demonstrate that Rumi’s “will to love” functions as an interpretive/epistemic lens that justifies his philosophy of unity and inclusivity.
The Global Philosophy Research Interest Group explores the benefits of drawing on diverse traditions of thought in approaching philosophical questions. These include novel insights into familiar problems, new questions and research directions, and fresh methodologies. We work to deprovincialize and decolonize all aspects of philosophy in the academy. The group currently has strengths in Sanskrit philosophy, and Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy in English, and classical Islamic philosophy.
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