According to the Department of Information and Public Relations of the Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, Hojjat al-Islam, Dr. Seyed Sjjad Izdehi, the head of the Islamic Systems Department of the Institute, in an interview with the reporter of Farsnews agency, about Islamic civilization said: A new civilization is being formed in the Islamic Republic, and so we cannot use Western schools of thought and humanities for that, otherwise it will result in a paradox.
He noted: Human has both soul and body, but in Western logic, he is considered just as a material being(body), and even sciences that are for the well-being of humans, such as sociology and psychology, only consider his body and come to an end when the material world ends. Here, if man is considered only as a material being, then human sciences will only be used for his well-being. But when outlook toward man is redefined and he is not limited only to the material and worldly aspects, other human sciences with a new approach should be defined.
Dr. Izdehi added: in science, we deal with those kinds of knowledge whose components are experimental. Understandings and analyses of “the human” are secondary concerns. But on the other hand, there are some kinds of knowledge such as humanities, whose subject of study is human itself and his understandings.
He stated: For sciences such as medical sciences, which focus on human body and not his soul and spirit, except for psychology, having a materialistic view does not create a problem, but the important point is that the nature and ultimate goal for man is not of material type.
He then pointed out that Western humanities, which were formed after the Renaissance, place Human at the center of the world, and added: Islamic humanities consider a sequence for man before and after his creation, in order not to be considered a phenomenon, just related to this world.
The head of the Islamic Systems Department of the Institute continued: In Western countries, we are facing a civilization that formed technologies, tools and methods with the aim of serving the Western man, and their civilization is based on their humanities. Their tools and methods have been created to serve their humanities. We have special goals for human and thus we must redefine human sciences according to our understanding of human.
He then clarified: A new civilization is being formed in the Islamic Republic, and so we cannot use western schools of thought and humanities for that, otherwise it will cause a paradox. Therefore, we need to redefine humanities.
Pointing out that Islamic humanities is not limited to Iran, Dr. Izadehi said: Just as the West has exported its sciences to all societies, Islamic humanities should also be promoted at the global level. The formation of current humanities has not taken place in a 20-30-year process, but it was fertilized in its path among thoughts, criticisms and beliefs in a long period of time, and nowadays it has such power that it is not easy to remove it. Now the long-lasting western humanities is a serious competitor for our newly shaped humanities, that is at the beginning of its journey.
