‘Guide to Preparing a Book’ is Being Reviewed

According to the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), quoting the public relations of the National Archives and Library of Iran, Hormoz Homayounpour, a researcher and translator, and Gholamreza Zakiani, a faculty member of Allameh Tabataba’i University, will present their views on the importance of this work in the history of Persian editing and scientific language during this session. Aref Khoramshahi, a researcher and editor, is responsible for the scientific secretariat of the session.

Mirshamseddin Adib-Soltani (1931–2023) was a prominent Iranian philosopher, translator, and linguist, born on May 11, 1931, in Borujerd. After studying medicine at the University of Tehran, he changed his path towards philosophy, logic, and linguistics, becoming one of the pioneers of scientific language and editing in Iran.

Adib-Soltani made significant contributions to the formation of contemporary Persian philosophical language through his translations, such as Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason,” Aristotle’s “Logic,” and Russell’s “Philosophical Essays.” Scientific precision, linguistic meticulousness, and coinages such as “computer,” “lexicon creator,” and “evolution” were among his enduring characteristics.

His book “Guide to Preparing a Book” is one of his most important works. While presenting principles of writing, editing, and publishing, it views language as the form of thought and emphasizes precision, order, and ethics in writing. In this work, the author, in addition to formulating technical and linguistic rules, proposes precise Persian equivalents for printing and publishing terms.

Decades later, this book continues to be a reference source in the field of scientific editing and publishing, and Adib-Soltani’s thought, which considered language a responsibility and a word a truth, remains alive among writers.

The “One Hundred Enduring Books of the Century” series of sessions is organized by the National Archives and Library of Iran with the aim of reviewing and analyzing prominent contemporary Persian literary and research works. Forty outstanding works have been examined within this framework so far.