Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058 – 1111CE)
Al-Ghazali in his study of the soul introduces two kinds of psyche or essences: one deals with the animal and humane forces of the soul (the incentive and the perceptive).
In the second kind of psyche, however, Al-Ghazali deals with the exercise of the soul, the discipline of morals, and the cure of bad manners. In this respect, Al-Ghazali is totally creative and inventive, hardly imitating any of his preceding philosophers. In this area, he introduced new effective means to modify human behavior and rectify its defects, thus preceding modern psychologists and behavioral therapists in this respect.
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The pragmatic approach of the Muslim scholars towards mental ailments continued, and they were the prime movers behind setting up hospitals and clinics dedicated to research and healing. The great scholar and Sufi mystic, al-Ghazali (1058 – 1111CE), wrote the book Ihya, which pointed out that children were naturally egocentric. His Islamic psychology proposed that children’s desires rarely included the potential consequences to others. Al Ghazali also believed that fear was a learned condition, either taught to children or gained through negative experiences.
As a Sufi mystic, al-Ghazali was a firm believer that introspection and self-analysis were the keys to understanding mental issues and unlocking hidden reasons. Very tentatively, one wonders how the influence of Eastern mysticism affected this particular method of self-assessment, a technique that al Ghazali used upon himself.
He also brought into the history of psychology the idea of needs, proposing that the human personality had urges to fulfill certain desires, based upon hunger and anger. Hunger drove such emotions as sexual urges, thirst and hunger, whilst anger drove rage, frustration and revenge.
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Central aspects in a human being
*Rûh (spirit)
*Aql (intellect)
*Qalb (the heart)
*Nafs (the ego, self, personality)
*Jism (body)
A human being is both; body & soul, matter & spirit.
It is the balance between the two that makes humans what they are, the highest creation.
The soul/ self/ ego (nafs:
In its upward or spiritual tendency, is attached to the spirit (al-rûh)
The upward dimension is the uppermost limit of psyche that connects it to the spirit
In its downward or corporeal tendency, is attached to the body (al-jism)
The downward dimension is represented by the sensory faculties that connect it to the body.
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Ghazali's Theory of Interaction
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Driving or Motivating Forces:
Hawa: Movement toward pleasure, lust & greed, life
Ghadab: Movement to avoid pain, aggression, death
Hawa:
Excessive lower desire will produce the negative traits of:
lust (shahwâh), covetousness (hirs), expectation (‘amal), vileness (khissâh), baseness (qanâ’ah), avarice (bukhl), cowardice (jubn), back-biting (ghîbah) and calumny (buhtân).
Moderating lower desire produces positive traits in the nafs:
modesty (jûd), generosity (sakhâwah), love (mahabbâh), compassion (shafqâh), respect (ta’zîm) and patience (sabr).
Ghadab:
Excessive anger will produce negative traits of:
arrogance (takabbur), antagonism (adâwah), rage (hiddah), vanity (‘ujub), pride (fakhr), conceit (khuyala) and lying (khadhb).
Acting in anger will produce rancor (hiqd) and if it is unable to do so, it will produce the quality of weakness (‘ajz) & idleness (kasl).
Moderating anger will produce praiseworthy traits:
humbleness (tawaddu’), gentleness (hilm), sense of honor (muruwwah), contentment (qanâ’ah), courage (shajâ’ah), generosity (sakhâwah) & affection (ithar).
The qalb has 5 senses like the senses of the body, which should be purified in order to achieve a sound qalb. It has hearing to hear the speech of the people of the unseen world; it has eyesight to see glimpses of the unseen world; it has a sense of smell to smell the scent of the unseen world. (Spiritual realm)
5 inner senses: imagination, thinking, memory, comprehension, attribute meaning
When its senses are sound the qalb will be sound. When its senses are unsound, the qalb will be unsound & the rest of the body will be unsound because of it.
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ongoing project... will keep adding to it.
