The Trajectory of Arab Islamic Humanism: The Dehumanization of a Tradition
The Trajectory of Arab Islamic Humanism: The Dehumanization of a Tradition
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阿拉伯伊斯兰人文主义的轨迹：传统的非人化
DOI：
10.1093/ahr/120.4.1343
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发表时间：
2015
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Patel A
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Patel A
在西方，写关于人文危机的文章已经成为一个新兴产业，而这类讨论在阿拉伯世界却不那么活跃。然而，阿拉伯人文主义者很容易与其他地方的同事产生共鸣，他们担心在一个大学教育的目标已经从追求真理重新定义为追求利润的世界里，人文学科的相关性。当今的教育是为了个人、国家和社会的物质利益而追求的。这样的哲学几乎没有给智力和道德的发展留下任何空间，也会阻碍任何对人文主义研究的认真追求。在整个人道主义团体中，用来解释这场危机的因素是相当一致的，而且大多数都伴随着这些担忧。虽然经济和制度的变化确实削弱了人文学科的首要地位，但是，过分强调外部因素而不进行同等程度的自我批评，可能会使我们人文学界的人无法对形势有一个平衡的看法，而且可能只会增强我们的自满情绪，而这种自满情绪早就应该被这些变化所动摇了。换句话说，虽然民族主义或以欧洲为中心的人文主义曾经很容易奏效，但由于上述原因，它现在已经无济于事了。然而，当涉及到我们的排外主义和精英主义版本的人道主义的过度行为时，我们中似乎很少有人倾向于进行认真的自我反省。萨义德在《人文主义与民主批评》中指出，人文主义的真正目标是自我认识，但如果没有一种来自于探索其他文化的批判性自我意识，这一目标是无法实现的。然而，在西方，欧洲中心主义将人文主义构建为一种专属于西方的实践，对其他传统视而不见。这篇文章并不代表整个中东地区的人文学科，因为中东地区是一个文化多样化的地区，拥有不同的民族和各自的人文传统。这里的重点是阿拉伯伊斯兰传统，因此这篇文章对埃及、叙利亚和黎巴嫩的影响很大。2目前的趋势是归咎于外部因素，如政府的冷漠、经济危机和停滞的就业市场、新自由主义的意识形态和价值观、“充满技术和资本主义的时代精神”、学院的企业化、科学的影响和竞争、批判理论和多元文化研究的优势。拉里·坦纳，《所谓的人文危机：以不同的方式教学，忽略那些憎恨者》，2014年1月26日，无神论者，异族通婚（博客），http://www。蜂箱ticink。com/atheistintermarried/2014/01/26/the-humanities-so-called-crisis-teach-differently-and-keep-do, /;米哈伊尔·爱泼斯坦，“解决人文危机必须来自内部”，2014年4月3日，The Conversation, http://theconversation。com/the -解决方案- - -人文危机必须内部-来- 24137。
WHILE WRITING ABOUT THE HUMANITIES CRISIS has become a growth industry in the West, this type of discussion is less vibrant in the Arab world. 1 Nevertheless, the Arab humanist can easily empathize with the concerns of colleagues elsewhere who worry about the relevance of the humanities in a world where the goal of university education has been redefined from the pursuit of truth to the pursuit of profit. Education nowadays is to be sought for the material benefit of the individual, the state, and society. Such a philosophy leaves little room for intellectual and moral development and can stiffe any serious pursuit of humanistic study. The factors adduced to explain the crisis are fairly consistent across the humanist community, and most are concomitant with these concerns. 2 While it is true that economic and institutional changes have eroded the primacy of the humanities, the uneven emphasis on external factors without an equal measure of self-criticism may prevent those of us in the humanist community from gaining a balanced view of the situation, and may serve only to reinforce our complacency, which should have been shaken by these changes long ago. In other words, while a nationalistic or Eurocentric form of humanism once worked conveniently, it is of no avail now for the foregoing reasons. Yet few of us seem predisposed to engage in serious soul-searching when it comes to the excesses of our exclusivist and elitist versions of humanism. In Humanism and Democratic Criticism, Edward Said points out that the real goal of humanism is self-knowledge, but that it is unreachable without a critical self-awareness that comes from exploring other cultures. In the West, however, Eurocentrism has constructed humanism as an exclusively Western practice, turning a blind eye to other traditions. 31 This essay does not claim to speak for the humanities of the entire Middle East, which is a culturally diverse region embracing various ethnic groups with their own humanistic traditions. The focus here is the Arab Islamic tradition, and thus the essay is weighted heavily toward Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon. 2 Currently the tendency is to blame external factors such as the indifference of governments, economic crisis and a stagnant job market, neoliberal ideology and values, the “techno-charged, capitalist zeitgeist,” the corporatization of the academy, the influence and competition from the sciences, and the ascendancy of critical theory and multicultural studies. Larry Tanner,“The Humanities So-Called Crisis: Teach Differently and Ignore the Haters,” January 26, 2014, Atheist, Intermarried (blog), http://www. skep ticink. com/atheistintermarried/2014/01/26/the-humanities-so-called-crisis-teach-differently-and-keep-do ing-it/; Mikhail Epstein,“The Solution to the Humanities Crisis Must Come from Within,” April 3, 2014, The Conversation, http://theconversation. com/the-solution-to-the-humanities-crisis-must-come-fromwithin-24137.