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The Nature Of Man And The Psychology Of The Human Soul
41 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas
40 books622 followersSyed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, born September 5, 1931 in Bogor, Java, is a prominent contemporary Muslim thinker. He is one of the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences and who is equally competent in theology, philosophy, metaphysics, history, and literature. His thought is integrated, multifaceted and creative. Al-Attas’ philosophy and methodology of education have one goal: Islamization of the mind, body and soul and its effects on the personal and collective life on Muslims as well as others, including the spiritual and physical non-human environment. He is the author of twenty-seven authoritative works on various aspects of Islamic thought and civilization, particularly on Sufism, cosmology, metaphysics, philosophy and Malay language and literature.
Al-Attas was born into a family with a history of illustrious ancestors, saints, and scholars. He received a thorough education in Islamic sciences, Malay language, literature and culture. His formal primary education began at age 5 in Johor, Malaysia, but during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia, he went to school in Java, in Madrasah Al-`Urwatu’l-wuthqa, studying in Arabic. After World War II in 1946 he returned to Johor to complete his secondary education. He was exposed to Malay literature, history, religion, and western classics in English, and in a cultured social atmosphere developed a keen aesthetic sensitivity. This nurtured in al-Attas an exquisite style and precise vocabulary that were unique to his Malay writings and language. After al-Attas finished secondary school in 1951, he entered the Malay Regiment as cadet officer no. 6675. There he was selected to study at Eton Hall, Chester, Wales and later at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England (952 -55). This gave him insight into the spirit and style of British society. During this time he was drawn to the metaphysics of the Sufis, especially works of Jami, which he found in the library of the Academy. He traveled widely, drawn especially to Spain and North Africa where Islamic heritage had a profound influence on him. Al-Attas felt the need to study, and voluntarily resigned from the King’s Commission to serve in the Royal Malay Regiment, in order to pursue studies at the University of Malaya in Singapore 1957-59. While undergraduate at University of Malay, he wrote Rangkaian Ruba`iyat, a literary work, and Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised among the Malays. He was awarded the Canada Council Fellowship for three years of study at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University in Montreal. He received the M.A. degree with distinction in Islamic philosophy in 1962, with his thesis “Raniri and the Wujudiyyah of 17th Century Acheh” . Al-Attas went on to the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London where he worked with Professor A. J. Arberry of Cambridge and Dr. Martin Lings. His doctoral thesis (1962) was a two-volume work on the mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri.
In 1965, Dr. al-Attas returned to Malaysia and became Head of the Division of Literature in the Department of Malay Studies at the University of Malay, Kuala Lumpur. He was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1968-70. Thereafter he moved to the new National University of Malaysia, as Head of the Department of Malay Language and Literature and then Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He strongly advocated the use of Malay as the language of instruction at the university level and proposed an integrated method of studying Malay language, literature and culture so that the role and influence of Islam and its relationship with other languages and cultures would be studied with clarity. He founded and directed the Institute of Malay Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM) at the National University of Malaysia in 1973 to carry out his vision.
In 1987, with al-Attas as founder and director, the International Institute of Islamic Thought a
Al-Attas was born into a family with a history of illustrious ancestors, saints, and scholars. He received a thorough education in Islamic sciences, Malay language, literature and culture. His formal primary education began at age 5 in Johor, Malaysia, but during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia, he went to school in Java, in Madrasah Al-`Urwatu’l-wuthqa, studying in Arabic. After World War II in 1946 he returned to Johor to complete his secondary education. He was exposed to Malay literature, history, religion, and western classics in English, and in a cultured social atmosphere developed a keen aesthetic sensitivity. This nurtured in al-Attas an exquisite style and precise vocabulary that were unique to his Malay writings and language. After al-Attas finished secondary school in 1951, he entered the Malay Regiment as cadet officer no. 6675. There he was selected to study at Eton Hall, Chester, Wales and later at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, England (952 -55). This gave him insight into the spirit and style of British society. During this time he was drawn to the metaphysics of the Sufis, especially works of Jami, which he found in the library of the Academy. He traveled widely, drawn especially to Spain and North Africa where Islamic heritage had a profound influence on him. Al-Attas felt the need to study, and voluntarily resigned from the King’s Commission to serve in the Royal Malay Regiment, in order to pursue studies at the University of Malaya in Singapore 1957-59. While undergraduate at University of Malay, he wrote Rangkaian Ruba`iyat, a literary work, and Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised among the Malays. He was awarded the Canada Council Fellowship for three years of study at the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University in Montreal. He received the M.A. degree with distinction in Islamic philosophy in 1962, with his thesis “Raniri and the Wujudiyyah of 17th Century Acheh” . Al-Attas went on to the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London where he worked with Professor A. J. Arberry of Cambridge and Dr. Martin Lings. His doctoral thesis (1962) was a two-volume work on the mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri.
In 1965, Dr. al-Attas returned to Malaysia and became Head of the Division of Literature in the Department of Malay Studies at the University of Malay, Kuala Lumpur. He was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1968-70. Thereafter he moved to the new National University of Malaysia, as Head of the Department of Malay Language and Literature and then Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He strongly advocated the use of Malay as the language of instruction at the university level and proposed an integrated method of studying Malay language, literature and culture so that the role and influence of Islam and its relationship with other languages and cultures would be studied with clarity. He founded and directed the Institute of Malay Language, Literature, and Culture (IBKKM) at the National University of Malaysia in 1973 to carry out his vision.
In 1987, with al-Attas as founder and director, the International Institute of Islamic Thought a
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July 1, 2021
In this monograph, al-Attas affirmed the dual aspect of man consisting of both physical and spiritual aspects of it. The definition "rational animal" described the essential part of what man is succinctly; that he is an animal that shares the same vegetative and motive powers, but he is also rational, that is he is able to perceive, retain and articulate symbolic forms in the form of speech.
In elaborating the non-physical aspect of man, al-Attas identified several synonymous terms that describe that subtile essence of man; all describes it albeit with different specific references. Those terms are as follows: the intellect, the spirit and the heart. All threee terms refers to an indivisible, identical and spiritual substance which is the reality or essence of man. It points to a unifying principle that is the locus of intelligibles. Through this spiritual subtlety of man that transcends mere vegetative and motive powers available in animals and plants, man able to apprehend reality by the actualization of intelligibles imprinted onto the soul (see my thoughts on Islam and Philosophy of Science).
The names of intellect, spirit and heart refers to the accidental modes or states of the subtile substances. Intellect as the name suggests involve in the act of intellection and apprehension of symbolic forms of external reality. Specific aspect of the self that governs the body and involved in its action are referred as the soul. The heart, on the other hand, involved in receiving divine illumination. While the spirit refers to the self when it reverts to its own world of abstract entities.
On Soul. Aside from the basic vegetative function that involves in acquisition of nutrition, growth and reproduction, the soul also possessed an animal aspect of it which could be divided into motive and perceptive sides. The motive aspect of the animal soul functions as the arouser of action, what that directs movement towards something beneficial or away from something harmful. It also passed into the actuator of action, which functions to initiate and communicates movements.
The perceptive form of the soul would be divided into the five external senses and another five of the internal. The five external senses serve to perceive the accidental particulars which is sensible, not the intelligibles universals. The five internal senses are as follows;
1. Fantasia, or common sense: perceiver of forms, receives information brought by the external senses and gathers it but does not retain it.
2. Khayaliyyah, or representative: conceiver of forms, serve to retain images when the objects are no longer present
3. Wahmiyyah, or estimative: perceiver of meanings, perceive the particular non-sensible meanings of things, here judgments are risen. The stored memory-image forming instinctive imprinting, which makes judgments and opinions possible.
4. Dhakirah, or retentive: perceiver and acts on its objects, retains the meaning aided by the representative faculty.
5. Imaginative: classify forms so meanings could be attached to forms. Essential in forming conclusions.
On Intellect. Intellect, as mentioned above, are involved in the intellection and apprehension of symbolic forms. It is divided into two, active and cognitive intellect. Active intellect are what that directs action after deliberation and also expand upon the meanings imprinted onto the soul into realm of practical reason and aesthetics.
Cognitive intellect on the other hand, manages the universal forms. It exists in gradations from absolute potency in children (ability of a baby to write), into pure actualizations (habitual act of writing). Material intellect, the first stage of the cognitive intellect is a mere potency in receiving intelligible forms. Over time, it is able to conserve the intelligible forms which results it to no longer be remained in the state of absolute potentiality. It shifts to a state of possible intellect, which appraises the intelligible forms and then passed them into a state of settled tendency the person can pick up on it. Possessive intellect is the continuation of possible intellect, where a person can actually capable of thinking and acting on it habitually. The last stage would be the acquired intellect, which able to reflects upon its own contents.
Potential intellect cannot move by itself, as change involves the transition between potentiality and actualization, and no potential can make itself actual, thus it requires something external, an Active Intelligence that is always in act, for everything existents are perpetually changing. The Active Intelligence arouses the potential material intellect from state of dormancy by activating within it the thoughts of eternal truth (consider how do you actually came in knowing the phrase the whole is greater than its parts), and gradually elevates it in a process of actualizations until itself becomes capable in self-intellection. The Active Intelligence to the human intellect is like the sun to the eyeball. Without the sun, the eye remains in its state of absolute potency in cognizing the ray. It is only with the sunlight, it is able to rise beyond a state of potency to actualization.
On Heart. The heart, on the other hand functions as a mirror that reflects the forms presented to it. al-Attas gave an example where imagine us living in a sphere with an aperture, within another layers of spheres. We have to continuously rotate each spheres until all sphere aligned into a perfect line, lightening the things within and without.
Thus what followed is the brief summary for this monograph.
In elaborating the non-physical aspect of man, al-Attas identified several synonymous terms that describe that subtile essence of man; all describes it albeit with different specific references. Those terms are as follows: the intellect, the spirit and the heart. All threee terms refers to an indivisible, identical and spiritual substance which is the reality or essence of man. It points to a unifying principle that is the locus of intelligibles. Through this spiritual subtlety of man that transcends mere vegetative and motive powers available in animals and plants, man able to apprehend reality by the actualization of intelligibles imprinted onto the soul (see my thoughts on Islam and Philosophy of Science).
The names of intellect, spirit and heart refers to the accidental modes or states of the subtile substances. Intellect as the name suggests involve in the act of intellection and apprehension of symbolic forms of external reality. Specific aspect of the self that governs the body and involved in its action are referred as the soul. The heart, on the other hand, involved in receiving divine illumination. While the spirit refers to the self when it reverts to its own world of abstract entities.
On Soul. Aside from the basic vegetative function that involves in acquisition of nutrition, growth and reproduction, the soul also possessed an animal aspect of it which could be divided into motive and perceptive sides. The motive aspect of the animal soul functions as the arouser of action, what that directs movement towards something beneficial or away from something harmful. It also passed into the actuator of action, which functions to initiate and communicates movements.
The perceptive form of the soul would be divided into the five external senses and another five of the internal. The five external senses serve to perceive the accidental particulars which is sensible, not the intelligibles universals. The five internal senses are as follows;
1. Fantasia, or common sense: perceiver of forms, receives information brought by the external senses and gathers it but does not retain it.
2. Khayaliyyah, or representative: conceiver of forms, serve to retain images when the objects are no longer present
3. Wahmiyyah, or estimative: perceiver of meanings, perceive the particular non-sensible meanings of things, here judgments are risen. The stored memory-image forming instinctive imprinting, which makes judgments and opinions possible.
4. Dhakirah, or retentive: perceiver and acts on its objects, retains the meaning aided by the representative faculty.
5. Imaginative: classify forms so meanings could be attached to forms. Essential in forming conclusions.
On Intellect. Intellect, as mentioned above, are involved in the intellection and apprehension of symbolic forms. It is divided into two, active and cognitive intellect. Active intellect are what that directs action after deliberation and also expand upon the meanings imprinted onto the soul into realm of practical reason and aesthetics.
Cognitive intellect on the other hand, manages the universal forms. It exists in gradations from absolute potency in children (ability of a baby to write), into pure actualizations (habitual act of writing). Material intellect, the first stage of the cognitive intellect is a mere potency in receiving intelligible forms. Over time, it is able to conserve the intelligible forms which results it to no longer be remained in the state of absolute potentiality. It shifts to a state of possible intellect, which appraises the intelligible forms and then passed them into a state of settled tendency the person can pick up on it. Possessive intellect is the continuation of possible intellect, where a person can actually capable of thinking and acting on it habitually. The last stage would be the acquired intellect, which able to reflects upon its own contents.
Potential intellect cannot move by itself, as change involves the transition between potentiality and actualization, and no potential can make itself actual, thus it requires something external, an Active Intelligence that is always in act, for everything existents are perpetually changing. The Active Intelligence arouses the potential material intellect from state of dormancy by activating within it the thoughts of eternal truth (consider how do you actually came in knowing the phrase the whole is greater than its parts), and gradually elevates it in a process of actualizations until itself becomes capable in self-intellection. The Active Intelligence to the human intellect is like the sun to the eyeball. Without the sun, the eye remains in its state of absolute potency in cognizing the ray. It is only with the sunlight, it is able to rise beyond a state of potency to actualization.
On Heart. The heart, on the other hand functions as a mirror that reflects the forms presented to it. al-Attas gave an example where imagine us living in a sphere with an aperture, within another layers of spheres. We have to continuously rotate each spheres until all sphere aligned into a perfect line, lightening the things within and without.
Thus what followed is the brief summary for this monograph.
March 12, 2022
Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas is a prominent Malay scholar and philosopher who has made significant contributions to various fields, including Islamic philosophy, Islamic education, Malay language and literature, and Southeast Asian studies. Al-Attas's book, "The Nature of Man and the Psychology of the Human Soul" explores the nature of the human soul, as well as the importance of spiritual development in the process of self-realization.
Al-Attas argues that the human soul is a divine creation and that its purpose is to seek knowledge, truth, and beauty. He emphasizes the importance of developing one's spiritual intelligence to achieve balance and harmony between the material and spiritual aspects of human existence.
One of the strengths of the book is its integration of Islamic metaphysics and spirituality with contemporary psychology. Al-Attas provides a unique perspective on human nature and behaviour that draws on both traditional Islamic thought and modern psychological theories. It provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the human soul and its role in personal growth and development.
Al-Attas's discussion of the nature of man and the psychology of the human soul emphasizes the importance of understanding our inner selves in order to achieve spiritual fulfilment and live a virtuous life. He believed that by developing our intellect, will, and emotions in harmony with the teachings of Islam, we can achieve a state of inner peace and balance that enables us to connect with Allah and fulfil our purpose in life.
Al-Attas argues that the human soul is a divine creation and that its purpose is to seek knowledge, truth, and beauty. He emphasizes the importance of developing one's spiritual intelligence to achieve balance and harmony between the material and spiritual aspects of human existence.
One of the strengths of the book is its integration of Islamic metaphysics and spirituality with contemporary psychology. Al-Attas provides a unique perspective on human nature and behaviour that draws on both traditional Islamic thought and modern psychological theories. It provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the human soul and its role in personal growth and development.
Al-Attas's discussion of the nature of man and the psychology of the human soul emphasizes the importance of understanding our inner selves in order to achieve spiritual fulfilment and live a virtuous life. He believed that by developing our intellect, will, and emotions in harmony with the teachings of Islam, we can achieve a state of inner peace and balance that enables us to connect with Allah and fulfil our purpose in life.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews