The question of "defining the human being"' always represented a philosophical and religious stake. That is why many thought systems tried to compare man to what is superior to him: angels or inferior: animals. During the 10th century, the Muslim society was at the climax... but also questioning itself. Some wise persons (probably Ismailian Shiites) wrote a kind of encyclopedia of knowledge: "the 52 Epistles of the Brethren of Sincerity".
Fifty-two books defining the fundamental and the relations of science, logic, astronomy and mathematics. These fifty-two Epistles constitute a true civilization project and the twenty second one draws the attention of Pierre Lory since it tries to define the universe logic.
The story (allegoric) occurs in an island governed by the King of the Jinns. The animals who lived alone, in peace, in this island suddenly saw men coming, destroying their forests, killing them, eating them or enslaving them. So they went to the king and demanded compensation: the Epistle constitutes the apologue (narrative and demonstrative speech) of the trial which opposed animals and men.
Once more, men are accused and are asked to answer about their supposed "superiority": medicine, philosophy, justice, feeding, clothing, religion, politics... The whole society of that time is examined closely.
A fascinating analysis... but very cynical: this text, written more than a thousand years ago is transposable line by line to the current world where the will of power dominates, as well as the supremacy of the individual over the universal.
But beyond a literal, horizontal interpretation of this text, Pierre Lory invites us to consider its verticality. If the universe was a body, of which men would represent the head, animals and plants his hands, minerals his feet: the resurrection including the three other reigns can be only be operated within man. It's inside him and not outside him that the perfect man can make the divine energy go up...
A 31-minutes presentation filmed within the context of the 6th debate of the Journées des Amis d’Henry et Stella Corbin.
