The Harms of Misdefining the Human Being

• The Bedouin
• Burying girls alive
• Idolatry, tribal prejudice, slavery, etc.

These are the first images that come to our mind when we hear the word ‘ignorance’(Jahiliyyah).[1] It is a dark image of an uncivilized society that later became known as the ‘Age of Ignorance.’[2] Of course, ignorance was not exclusive to Arab societies at that time. At the same time, a specific type of ignorance called ‘Medieval Ignorance’ was prevalent in Europe, and it was preached by the Church in the name of religion.[3]

In ancient ignorance, human behavior was simple and his violence was evident. The simple ancient humans did not seek to justify their behavior, so their mistakes were obvious and foolish, leaving no room for defense. But later on, they learned to bring convincing reasons for their intellectual and moral deviations. This way, they stood up powerfully against ancient ignorance and laid the foundation for ‘modern ignorance.’

Ignorance is sometimes used against reason and sometimes against knowledge. It is interesting to note that modern ignorance arose when humans, due to their advancements in experimental sciences, started to see themselves as beings who knew everything. They regretted worshiping God for many years, so they felt the need to work out a new plan to continue their lives.

Declaring the Death of God

Perhaps you have heard the phrase “God is dead” from Friedrich Nietzsche, the famous German philosopher and sociologist whose ideas had a significant impact on the formation of the school of postmodernism. Putting aside the interpretations of Nietzsche’s viewpoint about the death of God, his statement clearly expresses the situation that Europe faced during the modern era. A transcendental concept known as ‘God’ had been eliminated. Although the Church had distorted this concept, He was still considered the center of the world and the Owner of the whole universe. He regulated relationships, and the Western person could rely on Him.

By eliminating the concept of God as the Creator, Manager, and Lord of the world, the modern human was left vulnerable and helpless, like a child who had lost his mother. But at the same time, he was pleased that an intrusive power that was constantly commanding and forbidding had been removed from his life. Now he could do whatever he wanted with absolute freedom. But the absence of God was felt so much that nothing could easily replace Him. Therefore, the human being decided to take God’s place and use his own intellect to regulate social do’s and don’ts.

This was a simple definition of the school of Humanism which we discussed in the article “Which Definitions of Human Beings Are Wrong.” Ignoring God and spirituality had serious consequences for Western societies. It plunged humans into a deep quagmire where the more they struggled, the more they sank.

The Modern Human and the Rise of New Crises

In the previous article, we stated that modern ideology tries to convince the whole world that the modern human is different from the ancient human in terms of identity, characteristics, and desires, so ancient religions are not suitable for him. However, experience shows that this is not the case. The modern human, like all humans throughout history, has the desire to worship and seek the infinite. He is afraid of mortality and wants to be eternal. The modern human, just like his ancestors, also seeks a refuge and wants to rely on an eternal power outside of himself to find inner peace. However, the new definitions of the human being ignore all these feelings and desires, leading to the biggest human suffering: contradiction and conflict!

 Contradiction: The Greatest Suffering of the Modern Human

Imagine that you have not eaten anything for several hours and you are starving. You talk to a friend about this feeling, and she says, “No, you’re not hungry, you’re wrong.” Or she may suggest, “Let’s go to the cinema to satisfy your hunger.” How would you react? You would probably think she is crazy! You know that you are hungry, and you directly understand this feeling without anyone else telling you. You cannot relieve your hunger by denying it or getting distracted.

Your friend’s reaction to your feeling of hunger is exactly like the response of Western schools of thought to the spiritual needs of humans: they either deny such needs, create false spirituality, or engage individuals in animalistic activities to make them forget their ‘self.’ That is only because they refuse to accept that the true self can find peace only by connecting with God, and nothing else.

Western schools of thought have turned the modern human into a domineering individual who must rely solely on himself. From their point of view, the intellect and science are sufficient for human survival. They believe that this world came into existence by accident, and there is no other world after death. With this justification, they have eliminated the origin and destination from human life. According to these schools, the goal of human life is to seek pleasure and enjoyment. People must say yes to their inner voice to pursue various pleasures. The modern human is in an endless struggle with his true self to accept these suggestions, but he cannot truly do so. As a result, he experiences contradiction and conflict, which bring about considerable suffering.

Deep down, we feel the need for a supporter and protector. We want to surrender ourselves into the arms of an infinite power. Moreover, our desire for the infinite and eternal is something that we cannot deny. We can easily see that sometimes our intellect falls short in understanding. We experience all these feelings directly, just like we feel hunger. We suffer and try to forget this pain in the routine of our daily lives. We change our emotional partners; turn to drugs; immerse ourselves in work, studies, and university; seek love here and there; and constantly change our appearance, hoping to find a way to love ourselves a little more.

The modern human clings to anything that can bring him a moment of happiness or a dose of tranquility. But the truth is that as long as he ignores his true self, he will always feel something is missing inside, and he will not know what to do with it. Depression, insanity, and suicide are the products of the false viewpoint of the human being about himself. Many of the thinkers who founded these schools of thought became the first victims of their own ideas.

In this article, we attempted to highlight the most significant harms caused by misunderstanding the human being. Surely, you also agree with us that the scope of these harms is vast and does not end here.

If you have any experience or information about this topic, please share it with us in the comments section.

[1]. https://www.al-islam.org/man-and-ignorance/what-does-jahiliyah-mean

[2]. Ibid

[3]. https://churchandstate.org.uk/2022/05/how-the-catholic-church-was-largely-responsible-for-the-dark-ages/