The doctoral thesis completed at the Sorbonne under the supervision of Henry Corbin established Dariush Shayegan as a significant intellectual voice examining the intersection of Eastern and Western metaphysical frameworks. His academic career spanned multiple continents and linguistic traditions, grounding his analysis of contemporary Iranian culture within the broader study of comparative philosophy and civilization.
Academic Formation and Early Life
Born in Tabriz in 1935, Shayegan spent his formative years residing in Geneva after attending boarding school in Great Britain. His intellectual development was shaped by a multilingual environment where he mastered Persian, French, English, Azerbaijani, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, and Georgian. He pursued his higher education in France, graduating from the Faculty of Arts of Paris and the École pratique des hautes études, ultimately securing his doctorate from the Sorbonne.
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Shayegan served as a university teacher at the University of Tehran, where he held a professorship focused on Sanskrit and Indian religions. His professional output included roles as an Indologist, Iranologist, translator, and theorist. In 1977, he established the Iranian Center for the Studies of Civilizations, an institution dedicated to facilitating dialogues between cultural systems, a theme that remained central to his published scholarship.
Intellectual Focus and Major Works
His writings addressed the epistemological tensions within traditional societies encountering modern ideological frameworks. Key publications include 'Qu'est-ce qu'une révolution religieuse?', 'Les illusions de l'identité', and 'La lumière vient de l'Occident'. These texts explored concepts of cultural schizophrenia and the potential for a pluralistic dialogue between varying value systems. His work was recognized globally, earning him the Prix littéraire de l'Asie in 2004 and the inaugural Global Dialogue Prize in 2009.
Fast facts
- Born: 1935, Tabriz
- Died: 22 March 2018, Tehran
- Citizenship: Iran, Pahlavi Iran, France
- Academic Degree: Doctorate, Sorbonne University
- Employer: University of Tehran
- Award: Prix littéraire de l'Asie, 2004
- Award: Grande médaille de la francophonie, 2011
- Languages: French, English, Persian, Azerbaijani, Arabic
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Dariush Shayegan study?
He studied French literature, philosophy, Sanskrit, and political science.
What international recognition did his work receive?
He received the Prix littéraire de l'Asie in 2004, the Grande médaille de la francophonie in 2011, and the Global Dialogue Prize in 2009.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of Tehran
