''Falsafatuna'' is a book by
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr
Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr ( ar, آية الله العظمى السيد محمد باقر الصدر; 1 March 1935 – 9 April 1980), also known as al-Shahīd al-Khāmis (the fifth martyr), was an Iraqi philosopher, and the ideological founde ...
, published in 1959, which has been translated into English as ''Our Philosophy''. It is a critique of European philosophy, especially of capitalism and socialism, from an Islamic viewpoint. It was aimed at secular youth in Iraq, and was written in response to the growth of communist ideas.
Details
The introduction of the book talks about the four major social schools of thought—capitalism, communism and socialism, and Islam. According to Sadr, the capitalist system is "devoid of the philosophy on which every social system must rest...it is a
materialistic system, even though it is not based on a clearly outlined materialistic philosophy."(10) Capitalism creates big producers who are constantly in need of larger
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
s and new countries to sell their products to. The individual feels responsible only for himself and feels like "he is in a constant fight, equipped with no weapons other than his personal powers, and provided with no purposes rather than his personal interests."(14) Sadr then attempts to explain the philosophy and flaws of the
Marxist school of thought. He feels that
Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
approached society through a materialistic perspective and sought to solve the problem of injust distribution of wealth by reconstructing society on socialist lines. Sadr says that it created a society where there was no motivation for the individual to work harder than needed and the "communist economy clashed with actual human nature". (16) Sadr then explains how Islam reconciles the personal motivations of the human being with social interests by creating
morality
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...
and
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
. Human beings keep these values in mind and are "expected to evaluate all the steps they take....
ccording tothe satisfaction of God".(27)
The first part of the book elaborates on The Theory of Knowledge (
Epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Epis ...
). The first chapter explains the source of human knowledge. Sadr explains the
Platonic doctrine of recollection, the theory of
Rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...
, the theory of
Empiricism, and finally the Islamic
Dispossession Theory. Sadr refutes the Platonic doctrine on the basis that the link between the prior existing soul and the body is not justified. He supports Rationalism and says that "innate ideas exist in the soul potentially, and that they acquire the quality of being actual by the development and mental integration of the soul."(43) Sadr states that Empiricism does not provide a logical explanation for
causality and philosophers such as
George Berkeley and
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment phil ...
were unable to provide sufficient explanations for
causality solely on the basis of sense perception.
Sadr then explains the stance of the
Positivist school of philosophy and labels it as an extension of the Empirical school that refutes philosophical propositions calling them "meaningless" because they are not subject to
sense experience and related to what is beyond nature (68). He explains that in this endeavour the positivists contradict themselves by borrowing a metaphysical notion to destroy the idea of
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
.(69) Sadr admits towards the end of the chapter that "
ationalistphilosophy assists the empirical method in science by means of rational principles and rules which the scientist employs for the purpose of moving from direct experience to a general scientific law".(71)
References
External links
Text of ''Falsafatuna'' (''Our Philosophy'') online at Muslim philosophy website
Contemporary Islamic philosophy
1959 non-fiction books
Books about Islam
20th-century philosophy
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