Mind between western and Islamic philosophy

Western and Islamic philosophy of mind

Islamic philosophy differs from Western philosophy in many ways, but it also agrees in many others. In terms of the mind, what are the points of agreement and disagreement between Islamic and Western philosophy?

1- Mind in western philosophy

Human has been defined as speaking animals since the Greek era; they meant the mental capacity to compose a speech, create forms of communication, and reach different degrees of expression. (Taha Abdu Rahman, 2012).

The Islamic philosophies agree with the Greek beliefs regarding this human distinction. Many Muslim scholars consider that humans' trust is the mind itself.

They discovered that this hidden and marvelous capacity distinguishes humans from other creatures. (Rida Rashid, 1947).

Historically Muslims were open to different intellectual heritage, principally the Greek one. Although this openness leads to acculturation among nations, it can cause an academic loss because it only preserves previous countries' heritage without diligence.

Dr. Taha Abd al-Rahman confirms this viewpoint by criticizing some of the famous philosophers of Islam, including al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Rushd.

He blames them for only dealing with Greek philosophy based on abstraction's rationality, which depends on the abstract mind alone, excluding other conceptual dimensions.

2- Mind in Islamic philosophy

Taha Abdu Rahman also criticizes modern philosophers for mimicking Western philosophy without creativity or innovation, and canceling the Islamic perspective constitutes an addition to human thought. (Taha Abdu Rahman, 2014).

Consequently, Dr. Taha Abd al-Rahman establishes "a true Islamic philosophy" or "pure Islamic philosophy," which he claims to be free from all the Greek heritage's impurities embedded in abstraction.

The Islamic philosophy stems from Islamic principles that consider the mind an "internal perceptual act that emanates from the human heart and acts of perception outside his senses." (Taha Abdu Rahman, 2014).

Between Mind and Heart

Some Islamic ideologies are separated between two interrelated dimensions in the Quran and Sunnah: the mind and heart. "So have they not traveled through the earth and have hearts by which to reason." (The Quran, 22:46). (Taha Abdu Rahman, 2012).

Since the mind is a perceptual act and not merely a subjective substance, it is inevitably associated with the intent, and there is no intent without direction. Consequently, the mind needs to have a specific direction. The latter has two dimensions that can be defined as the following:

- A horizontal dimension makes the mind associated with worldly life. It looks at the phenomena depending on their connectivity and existence.

- A vertical dimension is related to the unseen world, making the mind curious to know the hidden implications of its existence.

To ensure that the mind is horizontally and vertically directed, it must follow the appropriate order and be supported by all means to function correctly. That is the same as what religious practice provides humans with. It guides them toward their objectives and helps them avoid evils and pitfalls.

Principles of Islamic philosophy

Western philosophy relies mainly on the abstract mind; it is prone to falling into the dangers of suspicions and setbacks. However, Islamic philosophy is based on the supported mind, which makes it immune to the abstract mind's evils and the directed mind's obstacles.

This philosophy is based on three crucial mental principles: the principle of witness, the principle of trust, and the principle of purification:

- First is the principle of witness, which is clearly expressed in the Quranic verses; "And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Yes! We testify," lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: "Verily, we have been unaware of this.". (The Quran, 7:172).

Hence, Islamic philosophy indicates that witness, in its various meanings, makes humans regain their innate nature and understand the reason behind their existence, which starts with the witness of humans in the unseen and visible worlds where he acknowledges the oneness of Allah and the witness of the Creator on this witness, and ends with a witness on oneself, others, and other different witnesses: "inspection," "presence," "informing" and "bearing witness." (Chtaiba Jamal, 2016)

- Second, the principle of trust stems from the Quranic verse when Allah the Almighty said: "Truly, We did offer Al-Amanah (the trustor moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e., afraid of Allah's Torment). But man bore it. Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results)". (The Quran, 33:72).

In other words, trust, in its various aspects, makes humans get rid of their obsession with possession. Instead, they bear all responsibilities; responsibility for actions, for oneself, for people, other living creatures, things, and responsibility for the world because everything in the trusteeship world is human's responsibility. (Taha Abdu Rahman, 2014)

- Third, the principle of purification is based on the divine honoring of the human being. 

The honoring which distinguishes humans over other creatures and connects them to their Innateness and humanity "to verify moral values ​​and spiritual meanings to obey the Almighty Creator and preserve the preference of humans in existence, and to confront new challenges and crises in human values ​​within a world that is getting narrower and changing at an increasing pace...This is because human in the world of trusteeship has to demand both moral progress and material progress; he is also required to make material progress associated with moral progress; otherwise, there is no progress in his humanity, even if he has reached a high level in the material realization, and his society has achieved technical prosperity." (Taha Abdu Rahman, 2014)

Based on these three rational principles, it is evident that the Islamic philosophy derives the rationality of support from the founding texts of the Islamic heritage, which comprises three philosophies: "The philosophy of witness," "The philosophy of trust," and The "philosophy of purification."

Hence, it was worthy of being described as a true Islamic philosophy or even a pure Islamic philosophy. (Taha Abdu Rahman, 2014). see more here

References:

1- Interpretation of Al-Manar, written by Muhammad Rashid Reda.

2- Islam between East and West, written by Ali Izetbegovic.

3- The Question of Ethics, a Contribution to the Ethical Criticism of Western Modernity, authored by Taha Abdel-Rahman.