ABSTRACT
The basic aspects of the Shi'i mind are: a dual conception of all things split between the visible and the hidden; a dramatic perception of this duality in terms of a conflict between light and darkness, between the righteousness of the Creator and the evil of satanic forces. Shi'i philosophy appears to soften the gnostic sentiment of life which, nonetheless, permeates it, drawing its strength from the most vital sources of early Shi'ism. Shia thinkers borrow heavily from the Greek Neoplatonists not only their concepts but also their general outlook. Under the influence of Avicenna, Shi'i philosophers saw only necessity in existence, absolute necessity in God, secondary necessity in all created things. At its mystical apogee, Shi'i philosophy is not satisfied merely to state the excellence of love and to consider the exaltation of love as the state most conducive to the feeling of God. Like Socrates in the Phaedrus, Shi'i philosophy deciphers the true secret of freedom there.
