Iqbal on the Ego - an interpretation of lecture iv of the Reconstruction (original) (raw)
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Iqbal's Ego Philosophy and Its Importance in Awakening Man's Spirituality(Journal Paper)
Journal of Islam in Asia, Vol. 11, No.1, 2014
History reveals the fact that the coming of modernity and secularism has allured modern man towards a materialistic concept of life, ignoring his spiritual needs in respect of his role as the vicegerent of God. This predicament has not only marred man’s relationship with God but has also failed him toward understanding his true nature and mission in life. The large segment of humanity today is on the brink of losing its human and spiritual values, resulting in severe environmental degradation, racism, terrorism, war, poor mental health, and other psychopathological illnesses. This paper intends to explore and draw out conclusions from the philosophical thoughts of Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) with regard to his ego philosophy that explains man’s relationship with God, community and the universe (flora and fauna). Lessons drawn out from Iqbal’s ideas can be of great use in awakening man’s spirituality and improving his quality of life by establishing a harmonious relationship with God, environment and fellow human beings.
Making Sense of Muhammad Iqbal's Metaphysics of Egohood
2024
Muhammad Iqbal's theory of egohood, also known as Khudi, selfhood, I-amness, or individuality, builds the foundation of his entire philosophical oeuvre. Despite a massive hoard of literature produced on the exposition of Iqbal's theory of egohood, it is still elusive to grasp. Iqbal's theory of egohood is a metaphysical theory that explains not only the ontology of the universe but also of human beings. An ego is an ontological substance: a unit of metaphysical or mental reality. This substance refers to the unique individuality of the existing beings. Iqbal's metaphysics of egohood contradicts the pantheistic metaphysics developed by Ibn al-Arabi's writings in the Islamic tradition. To make sense of Iqbal's theory of egohood, I investigate three questions: first, why did Iqbal posit his theory of egohood? I argue that Iqbal developed his theory of egohood to reject the pantheistic metaphysics, which undermines the individualities of God and humans as autonomous agencies. According to Iqbal's metaphysics, God and human persons refer to autonomous individualities. Second, what is Iqbal's theory of egohood? Iqbal's theory of egohood explains the ontology of the psychical (mental or immaterial) world, the organic (living physical) world, and the inorganic (non-living physical) world. Iqbal uses the expression Supreme Ego for God, while (finite) egos for humans and other entities of the universe. Third, what does Iqbal want to do with his theory of egohood? Iqbal wants to explain his social, moral, political, and religious philosophies with his theory of egohood. So, the article intends to make sense of Iqbal's metaphysical theory of egohood.
Journal of Islam in Asia (E-ISSN: 2289-8077)
History reveals the fact that the coming of modernity and secularism has allured modern man towards a materialistic concept of life, ignoring his spiritual needs in respect of his role as the vicegerent of God. This predicament has not only marred man’s relationship with God but has also failed him toward understanding his true nature and mission in life. The large segment of humanity today is on the brink of losing its human and spiritual values, resulting in severe environmental degradation, racism, terrorism, war, poor mental health, and other psychopathological illnesses. This paper intends to explore and draw out conclusions from the philosophical thoughts of Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) with regard to his ego philosophy that explains man’s relationship with God, community and the universe (flora and fauna). Lessons drawn out from Iqbal’s ideas can be of great use in awakening man’s spirituality and improving his quality of life by establishing a harmonious relationship with God,...
Allama Iqbal : A Psycho-Philosophical Perspective on Man
Allama Mohammad Iqbal is regarded as one of the most original and influential thinkers of 20 th century. The distinct position that Iqbal occupies in the plethora of his contemporaries owes its origin to his expertise in eastern and western sciences alike supplanted by his Quranic comprehension. Though his philosophical or sociological dimensions are diverse however, they all seem to converge at his concept of selfhood, which are the launch pad as well as the hallmark of his message. Since man forms the prelude, interlude and conclusion of Iqbalian thought. This paper carries out an analysis of Iqbal's philosophy of selfhood, tracing the chain of events that led to its formulation and the multifaceted nature of this philosophy of selfhood. Moreover, the paper includes a brief discussion bringing forth the psychological dimensions and a comparative analysis of Iqbal's philosophy with those of western philosophers particularly that of Leibnitz and Nietzsche.
An exposition of Iqbal’s ideas on human nature and personality
2013
Early ideas on human nature and personality were presented by Muslim scholars during the Golden Age of Islam (750-1258). The decline of the Islamic civilization and the dawn of the era of European colonization has somehow dwindled the study on man and his personality until the poet-philosopher Mohammed Iqbal (1879-1938) came up with his philosophy on the Ego (Khudi). Using philosophy and poetry as his vehicles, Iqbal called upon the Muslims to pay attention to the development and maintenance of the human Ego. Given Iqbal"s fame in the East and West, it is pertinent to explore his ideas on human nature, philosophy of Ego or self, and personality. This study surveys the underlying factors that challenged Iqbal to conceptualize a theory on personality which is very different from others in the Islamic world.
The Philosophy of the Self in Muhammad Iqbal
Entelekya Logico-Metaphysical Review, 2022
Muhammad Iqbal sees each person as the “self” with an independent identity, and God as the “Absolute Self”. The human experience of the self is a constantly changing experience. This change develops around a center and eventually forms an organic unity. The independence of the self does not mean that it is closed to other-selves. It is wrong to see the essence of the self as an unchanging substance or to conceive it as an unstable flow. According to Iqbal, the real personality of man is not a "thing" but an "action", a "sum of behaviors". The human being at the highest level of self-consciousness is the only being among all creatures capable of consciously participating in the creative life of the Creator.
Negation of the Self; a Curse to Humanity (An analytical view on a work of Sir Mohammad Iqbal)
The Criterion: An International Journal in English, Volume V, Issue:VI, 2014
Negation of the Self; a Curse to Humanity (An analytical view on a work of Sir Mohammad Iqbal) Samra Saeed Department of English, Govt. Raza P.G. College, Rampur, (U.P.), India, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. Abstract: In the present context, an episode analyzed and explored from the poem of SirMohammad Iqbal ‘Asrar – e – Khudi’ translation ‘Secrets of the Self’. The concept of Iqbal khudi, the Self or Ego is characterized as the fragrance that is present in every seed and to emit this potential fragrance the seed has to blossom. Correspondingly, the Self is the divine spark present in all human beings. A great journey of transformation is imperative to detain this celestial spark. In the sixth episode of the poem, Iqbal told a tale of Sheep and the Tigers. In which a wise and cunning Sheep hoodwink the Tigers to refute their innate feed habit. This consequently causes disgrace, defamation and misfortune for the Tigers and it results in their self-annihilation. Iqbal condemn that the rebuttal of the self-create apocalypse. Iqbal forewarns to beware of all those thinkers and cults, who preach philosophy of repudiation. To them, universe is an illusion; their motto is Self-denial precedes Self Enlighten and Secrets of all the living activities are in their demise. Iqbal believes inception of all human activities is in bringing desires to birth. The aim of the life is to assimilate, preserve and expand the Self. This is incessant struggle to be Selfassertive, Self- affirmative and Self-enlighten. Keywords: Soul, khudi, Curse, Apocalypse, Iqbal Philosophy, Negation of the Self, Anhillation
Individual and Society: A Socio- Philosophical Account of Iqbal's Thought
South Asian Studies, 2014
AbstractThere are so many long debates on the puzzle of individual and society. Some people favor that individual is the basic unit of society so main focus should be individual. Others favor the main importance of the society. The purpose of this paper is to address these two extremes. The paper addresses these questions: Is the controversy of individual and society a solvable issue or not? What are those social aspects which make an individual civilized? Can individual survive as a mere individual having no connection with any society? What are the benefits which an individual can only have from a society? All these questions will be analyzed with the thought of Allama Muhammad Iqbal that how he deals with the relationship of individual and society.Keywords: Individual, Society, Self, Ego, Consciousness, Atomism, Holism, Potentiality, Actuality.(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)What is an Individual?· Is individual a unique independently existing being having no re...
Iqbal-education and cultivation of self: a way forward for Muslims of the subcontinent
Whether all educationists were philosophers or not, one thing is clear -that all philosophers were educationists -directly or indirectly. May it be Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau or Dewey, they all came up with the notion that to bring about any change at a greater level in a society, change in its educational system is fundamental. Dr. Mohammad Allama Iqbal, though was a philosopher and a poet, also touched the very core of the problems existing in the Muslim societies of his time, through his reflection and recommendation upon the changes required in the educational system. Iqbal's educational philosophy is not only the solution to the problems that existed in his time, but also holds solutions to the prevalent problems of the Muslim societies. This essay seeks to explain the education policy that stems out of Iqbal's education philosophy. For the same purpose, a threepillar visual diagram has been introduced that will help the readers grasp the importance given by Iqbal to the cultivation of ego in his education philosophy.
Muhammad Iqbal’s Concept of Selfhood and the “Sufism of Dispossession”
A central aspect of Iqbal’s philosophy is the concept of the khudi or selfhood. Contrary to certain strands of Sufism that seek the annihilation of the self in the Divine as their ultimate goal, Iqbal proposes strengthening the khudi through the assimilation of divine attributes into a human being’s personality. For Iqbal, the role and value of the human being are clearly delineated in the Quran: Man is the representative of God on Earth (Quran 2:30) and as such, he has a huge responsibility. Man willingly accepted a trust and burden that all other creatures rejected: the trust of personality (Quran 33:72). As God’s viceregent on Earth, the human being also has enormous potential and it is his duty to actualize this potential by strengthening his selfhood, rather than seeking to annihilate this divine gift.