HENRY CORBIN AND THE MUNDUS IMAGINALIS: Figural Ontology, Vision, and the Reality of Appearance (Henry Corbin Studies) Paperback – January 29, 2026

What is mundus imaginalis, and why does it matter for contemporary philosophy, religion, and metaphysics?In this rigorous and original study, Henry Corbin and the Mundus Imaginalis offers a sustained philosophical investigation into the ontological reality of the imaginal world—a domain long misunderstood as metaphor, symbolism, or psychological imagination. Moving decisively beyond introductory accounts, this book examines how the imaginal operates as a real mode of being, shaping vision, knowledge, presence, and meaning without collapsing into subjectivism or mysticism.Rather than revisiting familiar discussions of creative imagination or symbolic interpretation, this work advances a figural ontology of the imaginal, analyzing how figures function as ontological operators rather than representations. Vision is treated not as perception or inner experience, but as an ontological and epistemic event occurring within the imaginal field itself. Knowledge, in turn, is explored without objectification, verification, or doctrinal closure.The book also situates mundus imaginalis as a decisive challenge to modern ontology, exposing the limitations of representational thinking, the flattening of being, and the collapse of intermediate reality in contemporary philosophy. By reopening ontology beyond subject–object dualism, the imaginal emerges as a critical resource for rethinking metaphysics after the failure of totalizing systems.Written for advanced readers, scholars, and serious students of philosophy of religion, Islamic philosophy, metaphysics, and phenomenology, this book does not offer a new system. Instead, it proposes a non-systematic metaphysics of the imaginal, grounded in fidelity to appearance, ontological humility, and disciplined openness.This volume is ideal for readers interested in:Henry Corbin and Islamic metaphysicsMundus imaginalis and imaginal ontologyPhilosophy of imagination beyond psychologyVision, presence, and non-representational knowledgeCritiques of modern ontology and epistemologyComparative philosophy, phenomenology, and metaphysics of religionHenry Corbin and the Mundus Imaginalis is not an introduction. It is a philosophical continuation, offering a mature, exacting engagement with the imaginal as a living ontological domain—one that remains irreducible, demanding, and indispensable for contemporary thought. Read more