Daryoush Ashouri ( fa, داریوش آشوری, born August 2, 1938, in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
) is a prominent Iranian thinker, author, translator, researcher, and
public intellectual
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
. He lives in Paris, France.
Work
He studied at the Faculty of Law, Political Sciences and Economics of the
University of Tehran
The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...
, and has been visiting professor of Persian language and literature at
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
, often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan.
TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international affairs and foreign studies. It also features an Asia-African institution.
History
The Uni ...
. Ashoori taught at
the Oriental Institute of the University of Oxford, and lectured on political philosophy and political sociology at the University of Tehran. From 1970 to 1978, Ashoori was a member of the second Academy of Persian Language.
Ashoori has worked extensively as an author, essayist, translator,
literary interpreter,
encyclopedist
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, and
lexicologist. His intellectual interests cover a wide interdisciplinary range, including
political sciences
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
, literature, philosophy and
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
. His main domain of intellectual focus is the cultural and linguistic matters of his native country, Iran, as a
Third World
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
country encountering modernity.
He has made vast contributions to the development of the Persian vocabulary and
terminology
Terminology is a group of specialized words and respective meanings in a particular field, and also the study of such terms and their use; the latter meaning is also known as terminology science. A ''term'' is a word, compound word, or multi-wor ...
in the domains of human sciences and philosophy by coining new words and modifying existing ones. His works in this domain are compiled in his Farhang-e 'olum-e ensāni (A Dictionary of Human Sciences). Among his major works stands a
hermeneutical
Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...
, an intertextual study of
the Divan of Hafez (Erfān o rendi dar she'r-e Hafez) which introduces a new approach to the understanding of the great classical poet. As a translator, he has translated numerous classical literary and philosophical works by
Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, Prose poetry, prose poet, cultural critic, Philology, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philo ...
,
Machiavelli,
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and others into Persian.
Publications
* Selected Books:
**''Ta’rīf-hā va Mafhūm-e Farhang'' (Concept and Definitions of Culture)
**''Erfān-o Rendī dar She’r-e Hāfeż''
**''Mā va Moderniyat'' (a collection of articles on the cultural crisis of Iranian society facing with modernity)
**''Farhang-e ‘Olūm-e Ensānī'' (English-Persian Dictionary for Human Sciences)
**''She’r-o Andisheh'' (Poetry and Thought)
**''Bāz-andīshi-ye Zabān-e Fārsī'' (Persian Language, Rethought)
**''Dānesh-nāme-ye Siyāsī'' (An Encyclopaedia of Politics)
**''Chenīn Goft Zartosht'', a translation of the ''
'' Also Sprach Zarathustra'' by
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
Sources
Iran Heritage: The Legacy of the Constitutional Revolution in Iran: A Hundred Years of Struggle For Democracy, Lecture Series by Dariush AshooriAftab article on Dariush Ahouri
See also
*
Intellectual movements in Iran
*
Persian philosophy
External links
*
Official weblog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashoori, Dariush
Iranian Iranologists
21st-century Iranian philosophers
Iranian translators
Writers from Tehran
University of Tehran alumni
1938 births
Living people
Third Force (Iran) politicians
Iranian expatriates in France
Iranian male writers
20th-century Iranian philosophers