ABSTRACT
The introduction to the great family of thinkers that we have here attempted to represent for the first time does not call for a conclusion. Indeed, we do not believe that traditional Islamic philosophy, and particularly the philosophy of the Shiite tradition, is a closed book. It is this traditional philosophy alone with which we have been concerned. The work of figures such as Mul)ammad Iqbal, for example, appears to us to belong to a different chapter of the history of philosophy. As for the future of traditional philosophy, we can speak of it only by diagnosing the dangers and hopes which lie in wait for it. We may perhaps point out that until air travel became widespread, Iran had remained very remote, and traditional philosophy was long preserved from destructive contacts. In any case, that time is over. Today, dangers and hopes have their origins both in the East and in the West.
