The human life, likewise, is marked by an experience of exhibition. The entire universe is out there for us to visit every day and every moment and cherish the beauties therein. The human being is no less an exhibition. As eloquently mentioned in the lead article we are blessed with a perfect physical structure that “whichever organ we may study, it is impossible not to feel admiration before its anatomy.” But the human is not only what it appears outside: “the depth of the inner world of a person has such rich potential to develop, and the potential to keep developing dimensions within; a complicated brain and a spirit with an elusive essence that evades material measure; and then the perfectly harmonious relation of these two phenomena-the physical and the spiritual together. . . mysterious beings… Within everything are meanings crystallized from the hues in the corona of that magnificent artwork-the human and her dignity.” The lead article is complemented with other articles in this issue on some of the fantastic abilities given to the human: the miraculous human birth, sneezing as a protective alarm system for our body, and the amazing Endoplasmic Reticulum which is the “industry district” in our cell where “most of the factories of molecules produced by chemical reactions are found.”

The Fountain continues to partner with civil society organizations and universities for international conferences and other events around the world. The earliest ones in the pipeline are the “Peacebuilding through Education” conference in New York, September 24, and “Ideal Human and Ideal Society” conference in Lahore, Pakistan, November 21. One concurrent event with the New York conference is Peace in a Frame photography competition. You will see ads of these events in this issue, and please refer to the listed websites for further information.

Multiple factors shape thought, but communication is especially heavy-handed. Communication not only restructures the contents of the mind,; it re-configures the brain’s very neurological patterns (Rotman 2008: 51-52). Brian Rotman explains four ways people communicate selfhood: self-pointing, a spoken “I,” an alphabetically written “I,” and “self-enunciation within contemporary media” (Rotman 2008: xxxiii). The written “I” is the only disembodied method, but this separation subliminally trickles beneath conscious awareness. Writing has been a major component of communicating theological concepts because writing has been the easiest form of mass communication for centuries. Theologians 1,000 years ago probably did not ponder the disembodiment of writing any more than landing spaceships on the moon. Television – which mediates communication through bodies – was not on their radar. But contemporary theologians have options. Gunther Kress is clear that, “The former constellation of medium of book and mode of writing is giving way… to the new constellation of medium of screen and mode of image” (Kress 2003: 9). These moving constellations have forced a fundamental shift in the way social brains engage thought. Theology that fails to take this into account will find itself hopelessly outmoded and no longer equipped to engage the study of God in fresh situations.

This article addresses the cognitive and neurological effects stemming from shifts in “culturally mediated systems of external memory” (Rotman 52) – such as writing and images – and how theological communication could expand in response. Writing reinforces left-brain, systematic, and linear thought (Armstrong 1995: 115). Images, on the other hand, encourage more right-brain, intuitive, and spatial reasoning. It would be simplistic to hold that writing is only mediated through the right hemisphere and images only through the left, but communicative modes create lateral biases. Theological minds emerge, – not only from the “linear, logical, detail-oriented left hemisphere”, – but from embodied, whole brains. The first section of this paper shows writing’s left-brain bias. The second section turns a corner by examining emotion as altered body states and how this leads to a right-brain bias. Visual mediums are the most direct way to communicate right-brain thoughts, so the last step is to show how visual mediums could add a holistic, embodied element to theology.

WRITING AND A DISEMBODIED, LEFT-BRAIN BIAS

Writing forces neurons to march in line with time (Kress 2003: 2). The left hemisphere attributes meaning to words and strings those words together to form sentences, paragraphs, and full discourses (Hogue 2003: 87). In a sentence, one… word… follows… another, so the brain follows a preset “reading path” (Kress 2003: 3). A dog bit Karen means something entirely different than Karen bit a dog. Reading paths necessitate choices about which words make the most sense in which temporal order (Kress 2003: 3), so writing creates “the subliminal appeal of reducing wholes to constituent parts” (Jahandarie 1999: 57-58). It entrenches linear (temporal) neurological patterns through the repetitive, reductive decision-making (Jahandarie 1999: 54).

This leads to what could be called: alphabetic reasoning. Daniel Siegel explains that the left hemisphere is responsible for “more slowly acting, linear, sequentially active, temporal (time-dependent) processes. Verbal meanings of words… are a primary mode of processing for the left side” (Siegel 2001: 179). The left-brain deals in “monosemantic ‘packets’… which are then processed in a slower, linear mode” (Siegel 179). Writing strengthens linear thought patterns in the left hemisphere. Siegel holds that, “Repeated activation of specific neuronal pathways reinforces the strength of connections between groups of neurons” (p. 194), so neurons fire in similar patterns in the future (p. 24). The brain functions like a malleable muscle, but writing only exercises the left-brain. The brain is sculpted like a bodybuilder who only lifts with one arm. That arm ripples, but the other atrophies. Plastic makes perfect.

The “linear, logical,” and “linguistically-based” left-hemisphere (p. 161) evaluates the contents of written words through syllogistic reasoning (p. 197), prejudicing the brain to evaluate their contents through the brain’s semantic operator. The semantic operator deals with “propositional representations – symbols of external or internal facts that can be… assessed as ‘true’ or ‘false’” (p. 35 [emphasis mine]). In alphabetic reasoning, ideas are filtered into categories of: right or wrong, – fact or fiction. Then, alphabetic reasoning reinforces the brain’s quest for causation through sequencing. Reading paths communicate meaning through cause-effect relationships, so the ensuing left-brain thought patterns in the semantic operator create a syllogistic lens. Wholes are eliminated in the effort to snap details into linear, cause-effect relationships. Meaning is confined to these necessary but limited ways of processing information.

THEOLOGY AND LEFT-BRAIN BIAS

As writing has become increasingly more accessible in punctuated bursts over the past few millennia, theologians have become more and more linear and syllogistic in thought. But neurons fire in strikingly complex and highly plastic patterns (Bennett and Hacker 2008: 137). Linear rules for systematic theology are only engrained through repetition. The dark side of alphabetic reasoning is that it can produce theologians who tend to exercise linearity while alternative methods atrophy. Recall that the semantic operator can only qualify concepts as right or wrong. Linear patterns do not leave cognitive space for multiple details to be processed simultaneously. In the study of God, this cognitive capacity is absolutely necessary.

So far, I have examined several important consequences of alphabetic writing: it is inherently linear; in committing to using particular words in particular sequences it automatically eliminates other options; it coerces thought into cause-effect analysis, and it externalizes, or disembodies, thought. Of these consequences, the disembodied nature of theological writing is the most problematic.

EMOTION AS ALTERED BODY STATES

Emotions are physiological changes in a person’s body. These are mediated through combinations of gestures, postures, and behaviors (Damasio 2003: 63). External images – or stimuli – are mediated to the brain through the senses, and internal body and brain states refract the external world (Damasio 195). Marshall McLuhan writes, “The use of any medium or extension of hu/man/ity alters the patterns of interdependence among people, as it alters the ratios among our senses” (Jahandarie 51). The higher cognitive processes involved in developing theological concepts are pushed and pulled by the body’s constant emoting (Siegel 143).

The signals passing in and out of bodies generate emotion, so change signals can make emotions contagious (Siegel 143, 50). Siegel explains that, “Complex neural/bodily aspects of emotional processes are not easily translated into words. Nonverbal expressions, including those of the face, tone of voice and gestures, can transfer information about internal states more fully to the outside world than words can do” (Siegel 150). When it comes to altering the emotions correlated with belief – belief that can override higher cognitive functions – bodily gesture trumps writing.

Because this emotional processing is primarily non-conscious, people do not qualify intuition as true or false by sequencing details into rational arguments. For example, anger is typified by “dilated pupils, widened orbital area, raised eyebrows, furrowed brow, and pursed lips” (Siegel 128). The brain absorbs all of these signals at once when someone unexpectedly sees this:

Through non-conscious processing, faces can change emotions and minds in a flash.

Intuition of other people’s emotions occurs within the Mirror Neuron System (MNS). This system draws most heavily from facial expressions (Siegel 290), and it tells the viewer’s brain to respond to the viewed face in kind (Siegel 129). The MNS non-consciously indicates: whatever is happening in that person is also happening in me. This is why people constantly imitate the “motor acts, postures, and gaze of their co-citizens” (Kanwisher and Duncan 2004: 463-64). When people talk, their body language loops without their awareness as emotions harmonize. Yawning becomes contagious. When the MNS causes altered body states and facial expressions, people influence each other’s emotional-cognitive looping, and thought itself is steered.

There is scientific evidence that the entire body is engaged in understanding and remembering. James McGaugh demonstrated that the Vagus nerve – which connects the brain stem to the stomach – directly unites visceral and emotional experience with mental processing. McGaugh presented subjects with two stories containing similar amounts of data. One story had high emotional content and the other had low emotional content. People with functioning Vagus nerves recalled more data from the stories with high emotional content than from the stories with low emotional content. People with damaged Vagus nerves had identical recall from both stories. This suggests that certain types of thought are crippled by the absence of full-bodied emotion. Siegel explains that, “conceptual representations are nonverbal. They form the fundamental building blocks of our thoughts, beliefs, intentions, and aspects of our explicit memories” (Damasio 167). Written theological method is often left wanting embodied communication to close the cognitive loop.

EMBODIED COMMUNICATION AND RIGHT-BRAIN BIAS

The body’s indicators of emotion – somatic markers¬ – interface with the right hemisphere more than the left (Damasio 144, 82). The right-brain simultaneously correlates multiple details rather than sequencing them in cause-effect relationships. Siegel describes how the right-brain deals with nonverbal communications through “fast-acting, parallel (simultaneously active), holistic processes” (Damasio 179). This means that the right-brain is the default processor of metaphor and paradox. Imagistic representations in the mind do not force choice, categorization, or analysis. They exist simultaneously without being truncated by “top-down” processing as emotions ebb and flow (Siegel 165).

Kress calls this type of right-brain embodied thought “spatial reasoning,” and he places it in opposition to the “temporal reasoning” sublimated by alphabetic thought (Kress 45). Spatial reasoning portrays multiple details simultaneously, so spatial reasoning is correlational rather than sequential. This opens up possibilities for theologians by beginning with building blocks of thought before they are sequenced into categories of justified and true, fact or fiction.

The right-brain is functionally nonverbal, so its contents have to be externalized in “non-word-based ways, such as drawing a picture or pointing to a pictorial set of options” (Siegel 327). Alternative mediums, such as video and visual art, could generate entirely new forms of theological thought.

MEDIA’S ROLE IN SPATIAL REASONING

Video and visual art are viable possibilities for developing a right-brain, spatial reasoning into theological method. Jahandarie poetically explains, “Electric media are extensions of our central nervous systems and thus put us in touch with the totality of experience” (Jahandarie 99). Jahandarie overstates his case; – for example, video does not communicate through odors, for example, – but his intended meaning is helpful. New technologies make it possible to create right-brain mass communication. The MNS is 80-85% as effective at influencing emotion through video as it is in person (Kanwisher and Duncan 469), so gestures captured on video have a startlingly high ability to steer the emotional side of the cognitive loop. Emotions can be altered and details can be expressed simultaneously if theologians were to use a wider set of cognitive and communicative tools.

Rotman explains that people listen, “not to speech sounds as such… but to the movements of the body causing them; we focus on what happens between the sounds, to the dynamics of their preparatory phases, pauses, holds, accelerations, fallings away, and completions” (Rotman 23). Through the MNS, we get hunches, – not only about what another person is thinking, – but how the person is thinking and feeling. The dynamics of gesture in film add an intuitive, interpretive element to its communicative ability. In split-brain studies, the left-brain cannot even register facial expressions or emotional states (Rotman 151). While the left-brain might be incredible at reading and writing books, it is inept at spatial reasoning. Siegel writes that the left-brain’s “monosemantic ‘packets’” operate through neurological patterns and processes “quite distinct from the analogic representations seen, for example, in an artist’s painting or in a photograph,” so “the right hemisphere more fully ‘sees the world for what it is,’ whereas the left hemisphere must reduce the world much more into mentally defined, often socially constructed chunks of information” (Rotman 179). The right-brain’s holism and simultaneity could be invaluable to theologians, but it is too often dampened by the limitations of past technologies.

WHEN THEOLOGY IS EMBODIED

Siegel mentions the “theory of nonlinear dynamics of complex systems” in regard to personhood (Siegel 7). The firing of every synapse in every thought exponentially complexifies what it means to be human. Perhaps God is not only linear, either. Images are not filtered through the linear critiques applied to writing because they function differently in the brain. This does not make imagistic, spatial reasoning irrational. It makes spatial reasoning non-rational, and theologians desperately need non-rational ways to discuss a nonlinear God. Spatial mediums are not able to comprehensively encapsulate God’s personhood any more than writing, but they could generate new perspectives to better triangulate theological depth in conjunction with it.

In the syllogistic line that runs from rational to irrational, the concept of a trinity is inherently problematic. The semantic operator only deals with logical, sequential coherence, so the multiple, simultaneously existing details involved in conceptualizing the trinity do not get cognitive space. In this case, it might be advantageous to take a right-brain, imagistic approach to theology.

Depictions allow for multiple details to coexist without sequence. Images can be worth far more than 1,000 words. Imagistic reasoning allows space for entire persons to subject themselves to concepts. The “events and actions” lost in writing’s “principles and concepts” could be filled out through images (Jahandarie 17). Instead of only understanding theology in terms of right and wrong, the theologian could also trust a Vagus nerve when it communicates that an image or gesture is good or bad. The details could remain simultaneous in the right-brain without being sorted, and persons could experience theologies to a fuller degree in addition to critically evaluating them.

CONCLUSION

As neurological patterns become more spatial and less linear, theologians have the opportunity to construct new theological paradigms by diversifying their communicative tools. Creating theology through imagistic mediums would be bounded by its own “epistemological commitments,” (Kress 57) though. Critical thought is a crucial element in theological conversations, for example. This suggests that – when used in isolation – either alphabetic or imagistic methods are reductionistic. Theology has to be alphabetic, linear, and critical to be constructive, but it also needs to be imagistic, embodied, and holistic to avoid reductionistic sequencing of nonlinear concepts. The multiple natures of cognition cannot be mixed or separated. Language and experience, left-brain and right-brain thinking, knowledge and belief, are locked into cognitive loops (Eichenbaum and Bodkin 179), and it is impossible to have a one-sided loop.

The advent of new mediums makes the creation of an embodied theological method – complete with shifting neurological patterns – a mandatory opportunity. The next step is to synthesize multimodal theologies with alphabetic reasoning. A critically holistic methodology would emerge as gestalt. Full-blown theological paradigms could materialize if both hemispheres were used in conjunction. However progressive, however gestalt, and however critically holistic theological method becomes, it can never be comprehensive or complete. Theologians must do theology at all times. When necessary, they should use words.

Jonathan Camery-Hoggatt is a freelance writer in Seattle. He has MA in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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The twisted grammar of the naturalistic fallacy

In assuming nature to be uniquely real, a naturalist proposes that “reality” (or “existence”) means “natural being” and nothing more. Instead of saying, “nature is real,” (or “nature exists,”) a naturalist prefers to says, “reality (or existence) is nature.” Such an utterance has an odd syntax, with the subject and predicate being strangely exchanged, thus twisting the grammar and invalidating it. It is not vague, but rather nonsensical. Such nonsense originates from the awful mistake of reducing a group (here, “beings”) into a member (“natural beings”), or, to use logical terms, equating a universal (here, “reality” or “existence”) to a particular (“natural reality” or “natural existence”). What a naturalist attempts here is to narrow the meaning of reality; this can be called “naturalistic fallacy,” borrowing G. E. Moore’s phrase. It is with this attempt that naturalism becomes unreasonable. Namely, as it is reasonable to conceive of “unnatural” beings, that is, any entities outside the world observed, it is thus unreasonable to assume nature as being unique in reality. In other words, the “world observed” is not equal to (nor does it consume the meaning of) the world of reality. The phrase “natural existence” is a necessary reference to-at least the possibility of-“unnatural existence.” Indeed, against this immediate inquiry of justification, naturalistic discourse does nothing but recede from a logical base. As the famous naturalist Kai Nielsen states, naturalism is nothing but an idea without any idea of foundation. That is to say, naturalism remains as arbitrary as any fantastic speculations about an alien world, as both share the same status of justification.

Hetoric divorced from logic

(a) “Naturalism is the view that only natural objects, kinds, and properties are real.”

As “natural” here is used to mean “of the world observed,” then the use of “only” means that “real” cannot be the proper predicate for the sentence. This statement is odd. To perceive the oddity, imagine (if possible) a man who understands the concept of “color” but is unable to perceive anything except red objects. Had such man said, “Only red is a color,” this is then equal to “All color is red.” Similarly, a naturalist suggests imagining reality as “comprising” (not “including”) nature. Can you imagine yourself answering this question: “Do you know why birds are eagles?”

(b) “Naturalism is the belief that the world is a single system of things or events, every one of which is bound to every other in a network of relations and laws, and outside this natural order there is nothing.”

If one were to ask a naturalist what convinced them to view the world as a single system that excludes unnatural things, they would answer, “The fact that I haven’t seen such things.” Responding thus, they admit the possibility of unnatural realities, which fulfills the meaning of the phrase “outside this natural order” in the statement. If a child asks this naturalist what might happen outside the natural order, how meaningful it is if they reply: “I have no idea” and how meaningless if they reply: “Nothing.” Such a conversation would demonstrate that it is impossible to place nature into “space” as a concept of physics, and that it is certainly not a childish attempt to try to squeeze reality into nature.

Groundless denial of supernatural

(c) “Naturalists reject all such notions of spirits, disembodied souls, non-material personal gods, and more-than-natural agencies. The grounds for the rejection of these notions are a lack of evidence adequate to support these notions.”

Ideas of spirits or souls are referred to as “supernatural” in that they are “ordinarily” not subject to the world observed. This means that they might be subject to the world of phenomena or of experience. There may be (reportedly, are) many experiences regarding supernatural phenomena, like spirits, angels, inspirations, revelations, etc. If this is the case then it would be unreasonable to reject all the relevant human traditions. Just as a momentary sighting of a peculiar insect is sufficient reason for the conviction that there is such a species on earth, the same is true for more peculiar entities. This indicates, as William R. Dennes clearly puts, that naturalists may have no reason to exclude intelligible reference to supernatural. Had a child reported to a naturalist that he had certainly seen a ghost, or that his dead grandfather had related a secret to him in dream, but the naturalist denies the child’s claims, accusing him of lying or dreaming, then the child’s rejection, in turn, of all the stories told and all the advice given by the naturalist that are based on experience would be meaningful.

(d) “Naturalism denies that there are any supernatural or spiritual realities. There are no purely mental substances and there are no supernatural realities beyond nature or transcendent to the world or anything of the sort, or at least we have no sound reasons for believing that there are such realities or perhaps even that there can be such realities. Physical realities, or perhaps as well realities dependent on physical realities, are the only kind of realities there are.”

The problem in the above statement is that the non-existence of supernatural entities cannot be reasonably claimed, let alone proven. Common sense commands that we not deny any possibility unless logically necessary. In logic, the denial of possibility is one of the two greatest mistakes; the other is the refusal of necessity. It seems that a naturalist cannot maintain such mistakes forever as they would necessarily encounter some form of supernatural experience, just as other fellow humans are. In other words, conjectures die away whenever phenomena manifest themselves. A naturalist then cannot be serious in his materialistic position, in denying the most manifest supernatural phenomenon, the soul, the factual manifestation of which is consciousness and the conscience. Therefore, rejecting any “purely mental substance” is a sophistic proposition. The immutable duality of “subject” and “object” always warrants the fact that “soul” is the constant interference of the supernatural into natural. Namely, if “nature” is the object that is observed, “I” am the subject that observes. Here we infer that a naturalist can only pretend to become a materialist at the expense of their own self. As Schopenhauer once wrote, materialism is the philosophy of the “subject” that forgets to give account of himself.

A pointless appeal to natural science

(e) “Naturalism is the recognition that it is within science itself, and not in some prior philosophy, that reality is to be identified and described.”

If science is claimed, in this approach, to identify reality, that is, to assign by observation what is real and what is not, then science itself is at stake as the objective study of natural reality, merely because it is the concept of reality that justifies observation. Plainly speaking, it is the sense of “real” that qualifies observation, not the opposite. This is why it is meaningful to say, “What we observe is real.” It is impossible to identify anything without having a “prior” conception of reality. In Kant’s dictionary, it is a priori concepts, the most prior of which is “reality,” that ensure all a posteriori notions, which all scientific terms are subject to. Now, upon this logical structure it is meaningful for a child to ask: “Aren’t ghosts real?” as well as for a naturalist to reply: “Certainly, not!” Similarly, natural science asks: “How is natural reality?” and answers: “It is in accordance with observation.” Thus, science admits that the reality of nature needs to be identified by a prior philosophy, a metaphysical notion. This means that natural science normally denounces (scientists must denounce) the awful illusion of scientism, the claim that science is uniquely eligible to identify the reality of the world; it is in regard with this that Wittgenstein warns that “the whole modern conception of the world is founded on the illusion that the so-called laws of nature are the explanations of natural phenomena.” What the philosopher means is that a scientist is no wiser about nature than anyone else when he steps out of his laboratory.

A final word

One may gather from this brief analysis that naturalism, in its absolute form, is destined to struggle forever, if not pass away, with the irremovable fallacy of reductionism. A naturalist may understand that to avoid from this destiny they must abandon the vacuous attempt to “invent” a logic for the world, rather maintaining the language on the grammar of possibility when assuming metaphysics, by stating, for instance, “Nature may be autonomous; who knows?” Such normalization turns naturalism, as Kai Nielsen states, into a game that might be called “fallibilism” and must be played without any confidence or hope. As a result, for anybody who wants to take metaphysics seriously for their ultimate concerns, as Michael C. Rea emphasizes, there is no such an option as naturalism.

Erkan Mazhar Kurt has a PhD in theology. He is an executive member of The Institute of Interfaith Dialog, Houston, Texas.

Notes

1. See, William Ray Dennes, Some Dilemmas of Naturalism, Columbia University Press, New York 1960, p. 80.

2. Kai Nielsen, Naturalism without Foundations, Prometheus Books, New York 1996, p. 35.

3. See, Michael C. Rea, World without Design: The Ontological Consequences

of Naturalism, Clarendon Press, Oxford 2002, p. 56. (These and the following emphases are mine for attention at conceptual relations.)

4. See, ibid, p. 55.

5. Cf. Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (tr. D. F. Pears & B. F. McGuinness), Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1961, p. 149.

6. Sterling P. Lamprecht, The Metaphysics of Naturalism, Meredith Publishing

Company, New York 1967, p. 209.

7. Dennes, ibid, p. 21.

8. Nielsen, ibid, p. 25.

9. Cf. Robert Sokolowski, Introduction to Phenomenology, Cambridge University Press, New York 2000, p. 14.

10. Cf. A. D. Smith, “Non-Reductive Physicalism?” in Objections to Physicalism

(ed. Howard Robinson), Oxford 1993, p. 225.

11. Cf. Ralph Walker, “Transcendental Arguments against Physicalism” in Objections to Physicalism (ed. Howard Robinson), Oxford 1993, p. 78.

12. Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation (tr. E. F. J. Payne), Massachusetts 1958, II, 313.

13. See, Rea, ibid, p. 42.

14. Cf. Dallas Willard, “Knowledge and Naturalism” in Naturalism: A Critical Analysis (ed. William Lane Craig & J. P. Moreland), Routledge, New York 2000, p. 30.

15. See, Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason (tr. J. M. D. Meiklejohn), Prometheus Books, Buffalo 1990, p. 7.

16. Wittgenstein, ibid, p. 143.

17. Cf. Ian G. Barbour, Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues, HarperSanFrancisco, New York 1997, p. 87.

18. Nielsen, ibid, p. 26.

19. Rea, ibid, p. 59.

“Who am I?” People from all backgrounds, experiences, and ages find different responses to this complicated question. Understanding one’s self is probably the greatest intellectual challenge for human beings. A simple answer to this question can be found via basic states of belonging: professional status, family membership, social status, and so on. However, such simple responses do not help us to resolve the underlying existential problems. The so-called question, in other words, seeks for an answer about the “self” itself, rather than for different social labels that are embedded in the self.

Early psychologists attempted to define the “self” in various ways. One basic definition relies on the physical body as the boundary between the self and others. This simplistic understanding of the self was extended by Gordon Allport (1961) to include psychological components, such as self-esteem. A further conceptualization of self regarded other people and prior experiences as parts of the self. William James, who had an important influence in the history of psychology, defined the self in three dimensions. Material or bodily self refers to one’s possessions, including everything one owns, the social self implies our social roles within the social environment, and the spiritual self includes thoughts and feelings about who we are (James, 1890).

Interestingly enough, psychologists after William James have tended to focus on the first and second components of the self. Today, psychology has developed branches, such as neuroscience, social psychology, and transpersonal psychology, which can be regarded as a continuation of the material, social, and spiritual self, respectively. More specifically, however, the third dimension, as transpersonal psychology and the psychology of religion, is not regarded as being part of mainstream psychology. Accordingly, the psychology of religion has been studied in university theology departments rather than psychology departments. This should not come as a surprise, because the search for an understanding of the “self” intensified among psychologists during the twentieth century, a time when religion was on the wane. The philosophical roots of this perspective can be seen even in the dualism postulated by Descartes as the body-mind distinction. Thus, we can view William James’ definition as a resistance against the understanding of that period.

Today’s popular conception of the self has evolved into another three-dimensional definition that is similar to that of William James: the individual self, which is defined as differentiation from others, the relational self, referring to assimilation with others, and the collective self, achieved by inclusion into larger social groups (Sedikides & Brewer, 2001). Although this perspective is functional in understanding the individual within the context, it reduces the existence of the “self” to a simple interaction between the individual and others (social environment); but this is a purely profane approach and excludes the spiritual self. Today, psychologists use instruments of self-concept or self-esteem; these have been standardized with national norms to compare respondents to others and judge them as having high or low self-esteem. The psychological norms are, therefore, defined based on societal norms, which are, by their very nature, arbitrary. I call this kind of conceptualization a “horizontal perspective,” as it lacks the complexity and richness of the inner world of human beings and reduces the self to the result of relationships with the other selves that surround it.

On the other hand, the conceptualization of the self with the inclusion of a spiritual component can bring about alternative perspectives. In this perspective, the “self” is basically defined in terms of a relationship between human beings and God. Moreover, the existence of the self can be explained directly with the existence of God. I call this a “vertical perspective.” Let’s delve into an example from religious thinkers who dealt with self from spiritual aspects. Said Nursi (1951/2007), an Islamic scholar, provides a striking point that exemplifies the relationship between the self and God:

An absolute and all-encompassing entity has no limits or terms and therefore cannot be shaped or formed, or determined in a way that will allow its essential nature to be comprehended. For example, light undetermined by darkness cannot be known or perceived. However, light can be determined if a real or hypothetical boundary line of darkness is drawn. In the same way, the Divine Attributes and Names (e.g., Knowledge, Power, Wisdom, and Compassion) cannot be determined, for they are all-encompassing and have no limits or like. Therefore, as their essence cannot be known or perceived, a hypothetical boundary is needed for them to become known. In order to make Himself known through His Attributes and Names, God Almighty has drawn a hypothetical line before His all-encompassing Attributes and Names. This line is the human [self]. By reflecting all of His Attributes and Names on it and thereby making it an essential dimension of human existence, the self has become a Divine trust, an arena in which the manifestations of Divine Attributes and Names are reflected in order to mirror the Divine Being. The self imagines within itself a fictitious lordship, power, and knowledge, which are reflections of their Divine counterparts, and thus posits a boundary line, hypothesizing a limit to the all-encompassing Divine Attributes, saying: “This is mine, and the rest is His.” The self thus makes a division. By means of the miniature measure it contains, the self slowly comes to understand the true nature of the Divine Attributes and Names. The self obtains a degree of understanding of God’s Absolute Knowledge through its partial knowledge and can intuit the Exalted Fashioner’s primary, originative art through its defective, acquired art. For example, the self says: “I have built and arranged this house, so there must be One Who made and arranged this universe.” (Nursi, 1951/2007, p. 552)

Unlike the definition of the self in psychology, the vertical perspective, which is defined as the self in relation to God and the rationale behind the existence of the self, is regarded in religion as facilitating one’s knowledge about the names of God. This perspective has some practical implications. For example, it challenges the overuse of psychological concepts, such as self-esteem and self-confidence, which have often been emphasized and are regarded as the key to success in life in many textbooks concerned with psychology and education. In today’s competitive world, superiority to others is appreciated. There is a mechanism of social comparison that forces us to rank ourselves in comparison to others who belong to the same society. It comes as no surprise that such a vicious cycle will create extremely individualist and ego-centric personalities. The self as represented in the concepts of self-esteem and self-concept becomes misleading, because this perception equates the self with egoism and self-centeredness. As a result, the gap between “the self” and “knowledge of self” is increasing (Wickland & Eckert, 1992). As scholars attempt to develop “knowledge of self” with the horizontal perspective, deviations from the real “self,” the essence of “self” that can be recognized through understanding God, can never be known.

This spiritual perspective offers us the opportunity to become acquainted with the self through trying to understand the reflections of God’s names (or attributes) in the Universe. This perspective is concisely represented with the statement “Whoever knows oneself, knows God,” an expression attributed to different persons in history (Al-Arabi, 1980). Above all, as the pseudo-selves that we assume are based on our subjective ranking in comparison to others, the example given above encourages human beings to find the essence of the self through attempting to understand God. Attaining the goal of self-actualization becomes possible because personal development is a perpetual endeavor and individuals do not restrict themselves to their rivals. There is always a further target to reach, since the individuals are guided by “the absolute and all-encompassing.”

Nevertheless, the prevalent concepts of the self do not cover the spiritual aspect of human beings. Individuals are forced to survive within a system that determines winners and losers, and this in turn can motivate people to attain their goals in different ways. While the so-called biased consideration of self-the horizontal comparison-is restrictive in nature, the vertical perspective, which does not include a comparison but rather a connection, provides an unending, unlimited, and satisfying journey throughout one’s lifetime.

The modern view of the self, which is devoid of any spiritual aspect, has incurred some negative results in the fields of religion and psychology. The field of psychology, except for Carl Jung, who appreciated the significance of the religious understanding of self, as well as a few psychologists who have recognized that the spiritual dimension makes people’s lives more meaningful, valuable and purposeful, has ignored a source of wisdom that has been generated over the centuries.

Conceptualization of the self merely within the individual and social aspects falls short of explaining and resolving many psychological phenomena, such as suicide, depression, eating, and anxiety disorders. Such problems can be regarded as a consequence of an over-investment in particular aspects of the self, and the neglect of deeper mechanisms, such as the conscience, benevolence, transcendence etc., which all together constitute the spiritual self. However, there are a number of psychologists who have acknowledged this problem. Here is an example: “The more we invest in the self, the more we have to lose… Indeed, the most successful and outwardly perfect self may produce the greatest inclination to escape [from the self], because higher standards create greater vulnerability and hence greater stress.” (Baumeister, 1991, p. 31). According to this argument, “outwardly perfect selves” who have enough self-esteem and social status without spiritual richness cannot avoid such problems as suicide, binge eating or masochism, which are several of the ways to escape the self. Hopefully, the following decades will reveal how the consideration of the spiritual self, as well as other conceptualizations, can improve our understanding of the self and simultaneously pave the way for understanding “self-actualization.”

Zekeriya Ozsoy is doctoral student studying educational psychology. For correspondence with the author: ozsoyzekeriya@gmail.com.

References

• Ibn al-‘Arabi (after 1229/1980). Fusus al-hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom), ed. A. Affifi, Cairo, 1946; trans. R.W.J. Austin, The Bezels of Wisdom, New York: Paulist Press.
• Allport, G. (1961). Pattern and growth in personality. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
• Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Why escape? – The burden of self. In Escaping the self: Alcoholism, Spirituality, Masochism, and Other Flights from the Burden of Selfhood. New York City: Basic.
• Goldstein, K. (1934/1995). The Organism: A Holistic Approach to Biology Derived from Pathological Data in Man. New York: Zone Books.
• Holy Bible: New International Version. (1978). New York: American Bible Society.
• Nursi, Said. (1952/2007). The Words: Reconstruction of Islamic Thought and Belief. New Jersey: The Light, Inc.
• James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. (2 vols.). New York: Henry Holt.
• Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review. 50, 370-396.
• The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English by Ali Unal (2006).
• Sedikides, C., & Brewer, M. B. (2001). Individual Self, Relational Self, and Collective Self. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
• Wicklund, R. A., & Eckert, M. (1992). The Self-knower: A Hero under Control. New York: Plenum.

The social milieu that provided the background for the emergence of Islam in Arabia is described by Muslims in one term: Jahiliyya, or The Age of Ignorance.² Armstrong argues that this term was not used to define a historical era but to illustrate the spirit that pervaded this time of “spiritual and moral crisis,”³ thus referring “to a state of mind that caused violence and terror in seventh-century Arabia.”⁴ Women were not exempt from this violence and social crisis: infanticide, the burying alive of baby girls, was rife; marriage was not sanctioned;⁵ women did not have the right of inheritance and bequest; they were not treated fairly during divorce; and women were not afforded full control of their wealth.⁶ It is in placing the Qur’an and its principles against the backdrop of such a setting that the reformist spirit of Islam, which restores the true human character, can be seen.

One of the most important principles detailed in the Qur’an which regulates the lives of Muslim women is the spiritual status assigned to women. Viewed by Muslims as the literal word of God, the Qur’an is taken to be the means through which God makes Himself known and describes His laws.⁷ When Islam emerged in tribal Arabia, religion reflected the tribal nature of society and its social structure.⁸ Polytheism and idolatry were dominant, with the Ka‘ba, the shrine revered since the time of Abraham, housing 360 idols. Families banded together to form clans and clans came together to form tribes; tribal allegiance was the most important factor governing an individual’s position in society. One of the points discussed with reference to women in pre-Islamic society is the level of their participation in religious rites and traditions. Some have argued that, while being seen as improving the rights of women, the advent of Islam in fact restricted them. Leila Ahmed, most notably, includes among the roles of Jahiliyya women, “priestesses, soothsayers, prophetesses” and “warrior-leaders.”⁹ However, in his discussion of the feminine in Islamic mysticism, Elias locates the chief reason for women’s involvement in soothsaying, blackmagic and such occupations, as being women’s exclusion from religion.¹⁰ Islam’s emergence drastically altered the spiritual landscape of Arabia for women. One of the most important principles outlined in the Qur’an is the notion of religious, moral and spiritual, obligations being incumbent upon all individuals, regardless of sex. The Qur’an states, for example: “Those who submit to God and accept the true Faith; who are devout, sincere, patient, humble charitable, and chaste; who fast and are ever mindful of God-on these, both men and women, God will bestow forgiveness and a rich recompense.”¹¹ Listing this and another ten sections from the Qur’an, Stowasser claims that these Qur’anic references “converge to establish the absence of the doctrine of woman’s spiritual inferiority in Koranic teaching.”¹² Moreover, in contrast to the central concept of Original Sin in Christianity and Judaism, the Qur’an never mentions that woman is the devil’s gateway or a deceiver by nature:

The Qur’an clearly rejects any such notion of the “inherent” evil of woman. It explicitly demands respect for her “inherent” good as potential child-bearer (and primary nurturer). It places her on absolute par with men in terms of the spiritual potential (to know and serve Allah) and the potential to attain Paradise, provided she and he strive to realize such potential.¹³

The Qur’anic principle of spiritual and moral obligation has meant that women, from the very early days of Islam, have played an essential role, not just in practising the faith and engaging in Islamic mysticism,¹⁴ but also in writing the official history of Islam and compiling foundational works establishing the standards of religious and social practice for Islamic society.¹⁵

Another essential principle pertaining to women which is woven through the fabric of the Qur’an is that of marriage. Ahmed identifies marriage as the area where Islam has introduced the greatest reform, with no institution of marriage present at the advent of Islam.¹⁶ The reformist nature of Islam, however, lay not just in introducing new regulations, but also in overlaying new ideas to existing practice.¹⁷ While the institution of marriage, for instance, did not exist in the traditional form in pre-Islamic Arabia, there were different forms of it that were present.¹⁸ The Qur’an defines marriage as a contract between man and woman, with both assuming equal, though not identical, places. It sees the institution and the sexual relations between husband and wife not as shameful, but as commendable:

By another sign He created for you spouses from among yourselves, that you might live in peace with them, and planted love and kindness in your hearts.¹⁹

The status of women and the family in Islamic society was thus the product chiefly of Qur’anic prescriptions, which endure in affecting the lives of Muslim women.

As a final point, the economic principles detailed in the Qur’an provided such rights to women that women in the rest of the “civilized” world would have to wait until the nineteenth century for these rights to be recognized and granted.²⁰ With the advent of Islam, women were granted the right to inherit and bequeath property, have possession and complete control of their wealth and receive a dowry, while married and after divorce.²¹ The economic autonomy detailed in the Qur’an was perhaps one of the most striking reforms at the time, and still continues to be discussed today.

The principles outlined in the Qur’an which regulate the lives of Muslim women transformed the tribal society in which Islam emerged. While a satisfactory evaluation of each of these principles is beyond the scope of this paper, it is axiomatic that the transformations that Islam induced have had far-reaching implications for the lives of Muslim women and have directly impacted how these lives are played out in ever-changing societies.

Fulya Celik is coordinator of Religious Studies at a private college.

Notes

1. A. Guillaume, Islam, 2nd edn, Harmondsworth, 1956, p.71.

2. H. Smith, ‘Islam’, The World’s Religions, San Francisco, 1991, p.223.

3. Karen Armstrong, Muhammad:Prophet for Our Time, London, 2006, p.34.

4. Ibid., p.19-20.

5. L. Ahmed, ‘Women and the Advent of Islam’, Signs, Summer 1986, p.668.

6. B.F. Stowasser, ‘The Status of Women in Early Islam’, in Hussein, F (ed), Muslim Women, New York, 1984, pp.15-17.

7. Smith, ‘Islam’, p.235.

8. J.L Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, New York, 2005, p.3.

9. Ahmed, ‘Women and the Advent of Islam’, p.691.

10. J.J. Elias, ‘Female and Feminine in Islamic Mysticism’, Muslim World, July/Oct 1988, p.214.

11. N.J Dawood, The Koran, London, 2003, p.296. (Ahzab 33:35).

12. Stowasser, ‘The Status of Women in Early Islam’, pp.20–23.

13. A. Wadud, Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective, New York, 1999, p.99.

14. See Elias, “Female and Feminine in Islamic Mysticism.”

15. Ahmed, “Women and the Advent of Islam,” p.671.

16. Ibid., p.667.

17. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, p.94.

18. Ahmed, “Women and the Advent of Islam,” p.670.

19. Dawood, The Koran, p.285. (Rum 30:21).

20. Esposito, 2005.

21. Stowasser, ‘The Status of Women in Early Islam’, p.15-18.

References

• Ahmed, L, “Women and the Advent of Islam”, Signs, Summer 1986, pp.665–691.
• Armstrong, K, Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time, Harper Press, London, 2006.
• Armstrong, K, Islam: A Short History, Phoenix Press, London, 2004.
• Dawood, N.J, The Koran, Penguin Books, London, 2003.
• Elias, J.J, “Female and Feminine in Islamic Mysticism”, Muslim World, July/Oct 1988, pp.209–224.
• Esposito, J.L, Islam: The Straight Path, OUP, New York, 2005.
• Guillaume, A, Islam, 2nd edn, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1956.
• Smith, H, “Islam”, The World’s Religions, Harper, San Francisco,1991.
• Stowasser, B.F, “The Status of Women in Early Islam”, in Freda Hussain (ed), Muslim Women, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1984, pp.11–43.
• Wadud, A, Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective, OUP, New York, 1999.

Currently, some religious scholars in the Islamic world denounce music. This paper analyzes the Islamic perspective on music and singing, and concludes that using music as a therapeutic agent in medicine is not forbidden.

Documented evidence shows the power of music can be tapped to heal the body, strengthen the mind, and unlock the creative spirit. Published papers and journal articles offer dramatic accounts of how doctors, musicians, and healthcare professionals use music to deal with everything from anxiety to cancer, high blood pressure, chronic pain, dyslexia, and even mental illness. During childbirth, music can relieve expectant mothers’ anxiety and help release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, and thereby dramatically decrease the need for anesthesia.

Exposure to sound, music, and other acoustical vibrations can have a lifelong effect on health, learning, and behavior, for such exposure stimulates learning and memory and strengthens one’s listening abilities. Music has been used as a treatment or cure from migraines to substance abuse.

One thousand years ago, Muslim physicians were in the forefront of medicine and used innovations and therapeutic techniques that are now considered modern. They treated mental illnesses by confining patients in asylums with twenty-first-century techniques of music therapy. In Fez, Morocco, an asylum for the mentally ill was built early in the eighth century, and asylums for the insane were built in Baghdad (705), Cairo (800), and Damascus and Aleppo (1270). In addition to baths and drugs, the mentally ill received kind and benevolent treatment, and were exposed to highly developed music-based therapy and occupational therapy. Special choirs and live bands were brought daily to present singing, musical, and comical performances to patients.

Malik al-Mansur Sayf al-Din Qalawun built the al-Mansuri hospital in Cairo (1284). Its most outstanding characteristic was that, just like today’s advanced hospitals, provisions were made to entertain patients with light music. Professional storytellers were appointed to narrate stories and jokes (radio, TV, and computers perform these functions today). People who called the faithful to prayer would sing religious songs in their melodious voices before the morning call to prayer; so that afflicted patients might forget their suffering. This hospital still renders such services today.

Medical benefits

Music therapy has been lost for more than 1,000 years in the Muslim world and in the West. In the last three decades or so, the West has shown tremendous interest in using music therapy to treat several diseases and ailments. No one knows exactly how music heals, but it looks like our brains are wired to respond to it.

Dr. Clive Robbins, a co-founder of the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at New York University in New York City, says: “There is something intrinsically musical about the brain’s neurological structure and the muscular function of the human organism. At a nonverbal level, music activates our minds, integrates our attention, and seems to help regulate some body functions.”(2) He has treated a child afflicted with cerebral palsy with music therapy in order to teach the child how to balance his body, coordinate his limbs’ movement, and communicate. It has made him motivated and intent.

The right song seems to work in more than one way-distracting us from pain, boosting one’s mood, reviving old memories, and even prompting the body to match its rhythms. Music has long been appreciated for its calming effects, but new research shows it also may have the power to restore and keep us healthy. Soothing sounds, from Tibetan chants to Beethoven symphonies, are being given scientific credit for preventing colds, easing labor pains, and even boosting anti-aging hormones. One study found that surgery patients who listened to comforting music recovered more quickly and felt less pain than those who did not. The International Journal of Arts Medicine reports that infants in intensive care units go home three days earlier, eat better, and gain more weight if the staff talks and sings to them.

Clinical studies and anecdotal evidence from music therapists suggest that the sound of music is soothing and comfortable. For example, music is credited with lowering cortisol, a stress hormone, as much as 25 percent; boosting endorphins, the body’s natural opiates or feel-good drugs; reducing pain after surgery and reducing the need for sedatives and pain relievers; making patients recover from surgery faster and with less pain; possibly preventing colds; raising blood levels of Immunoglobin A (immune system fighter) to a whopping 14.1 percent; and easing labor without drugs. It also seems to help premature infants in intensive care; stimulate the brain’s neural connections and promote children’s spatial ability and memory; lower blood pressure as much as 5 points, reduce heart rate, improve cardiac output, and relax muscle tension; and manage non-pharmacological pain and discomfort.

But these are not all of its benefits, for research shows that music also improves the mood and mobility of people with Parkinson’s, decreases nausea during chemotherapy, helps patients participate in medical treatment, decreases length of hospital stay, relieves anxiety and reduces stress, eases depression, enhances concentration and creativity, brings positive changes in mood and emotional states, increases awareness of self and environment, gives a sense of control over life through successful experiences, provides an outlet for expressing feelings, improves memory recall and thereby contributes to reminiscence and satisfaction with life. In addition, music therapy may allow for emotional intimacy with families and caregivers, relaxation for the entire family, and meaningful time spent together in a positive, creative way.

Exciting new research suggests that our brains respond to music almost as if it were medicine. Music may regulate some body functions, synchronize motor skills, stimulate mind and even make us smarter. According to Suzanne Hanser, D. Ed., a lecturer at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Social Medicine: “There is no set prescription or a particular piece of music that will make everyone feel better or more relax. What counts is musical taste, kinds of memories, feelings and associations a piece of music brings to mind. Some people relax to classical music, others like the Moody Blues. The key is to individualize your musical selections.”(3)

Depression

Research conducted at the Stanford University School of Medicine provides some interesting results. For one group of 20 people aged between 61 and 86, moods rose and depression fell when they listened to familiar music they selected, on their own or with the help of a music therapist, while practicing various stress-reduction techniques. A control group who missed out on the music and the exercises saw no improvement during the 8-week study period. It helps to perform gentle exercises, depending on one’s fitness level, while the music plays. Movements should be light and flowing. Breathe to the music, and gently come to rest when the music ends.

Insomnia

A study from the University of Louisville School of Nursing Research indicates that 24 out of 25 people with sleeping problems nod off more quickly, sleep longer, or get back to sleep more easily after listening to classical and New Age music. The music must be quiet and melodic, have a slow beat and few, if any, rhythmic accents. To be effective, one should skip the after-dinner coffee or tea and avoid telephone calls and TV after 9 p.m. Softer and quieter music should be played as bedtime approaches. Listen to the music in bed with a tape recorder or a CD player equipped with a silent on/off switch. One should lie quietly and take even, deep breaths.

Stress

Many studies have found that soothing melodies can ease anxiety and quiet both blood pressure and heart rate even under very stressful conditions. Everyday stress also responds to music. Select music that grabs your attention and, at the same time, relax your body so that all of your worries slip away. Slow music, like a love song sung by an accomplished singer or a calm instrumental piece may be perfect. If a slow tune gives your mind time to fret or obsess, switch to something livelier. Sit or lie down in a comfortable position and where you will not be disturbed. After a few minutes, perform a relaxation exercise.

Pain

One Yale University School of Medicine study found that people who listened to their favorite music while awake during a surgical procedure needed smaller amounts of sedatives and pain medication than those who did not. Music therapists and researchers say that physical discomfort from post-operative pain to chronic aches can be eased with flowing melodies and distracting rhythms. Dr. Alicia A. Clair, a board-certified music therapist and professor and director of music therapy at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, says that music can bring transitory relief from short-term and long-term pain and discomfort, such as arthritis and osteoporosis. Gentle and soothing stress-reducing music, which can relax and distract the mind, is helpful. Martha Burke, a board-certified music therapist in Durham, North Carolina, says: “Gently flowing music or music with a slow, steady pulse can help promote relaxation, which can then alter a patient’s perception of pain. Soothing music can lower the heart rate and breathing rate, leading to further relaxation, and reduces tension that comes with the pain. We know music is so incredibly complex–it has tempo, rhythm, melody, and harmony. And so it stimulates the brain in many ways at once.”(4)

Brain damage

Samuel Wong, a Harvard-trained physician based in New York City, plays musical instruments to help patients with brain damage (from strokes) and Alzheimer’s reconnect to the world. He is also music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Honolulu Symphony. “When brain damage (from stroke, Alzheimer’s, etc.) leaves a devastated mental landscape, music ‘builds a bridge’ that allows patients to reconnect with the outside world. The study of medicine has informed my performance of music, and my learning of music has deepened my role in healing,”(5) he says. In 1996, researchers at Colorado State University tried giving 10 stroke victims 30 minutes of rhythmic stimulation each day for three weeks. Compared with untreated patients, they showed significant improvements in their ability to walk steadily. People with Parkinson’s enjoyed similar benefits. Stroke victims and patients with Parkinson’s walked more steadily and with better balance and speed if they practiced while hearing a balanced metrical beat or a piece of music with a powerful, even beat. A musical beat from any genre seemed to provide a rhythmic cue, which has a powerful, organizing effect on the brain’s motor skills—it helps harmonize movement almost at once, according to researchers. Scottish researchers have found that a daily dose of music significantly brightens the moods of institutionalized stroke victims. When daily music therapy was administered for 12 weeks, the patients were less depressed and anxious, and more stable and sociable than other patients in the same building. Music therapy also has proved useful in managing Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.

Sounds of healing

Mitchell L. Gaynor, MD, director of medical oncology and integrative medicine at New York’s Strang Cancer Prevention Center (affiliated with the Cornell Medical Center), says: “More doctors are seeing a connection between harmonious sound and health. If we are around very harmonious people and harmonious vibrations and harmonious sounds, we begin to feel better. I have never found anything more powerful than sound and voice and music to begin to heal and transform every aspect of people’s lives. It can really change people’s lives.”(6) “We know that music is capable of enhancing the body’s immune function, lowering heart rate, lowering stress-related hormones like cortisol that raise our blood pressure and depress our immune systems. It also trims complications after heart attack, calms anxiety, slows breathing and increases production of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. Eighty percent of the stimuli that reach our brains come through our ears.” (7) “Even before birth, music makes a difference. Hearing is the first sense to develop, when the fetus is only 18 weeks old (Qur’an 32:9). We know that the unborn child hears for literally half the pregnancy and is affected profoundly by what it hears. Studies show that music by Mozart and Vivaldi actually can bring down fetal heart rate, calm brain waves, and reduce the baby’s kicking. Rock music, on the other hand, appeared to drive fetuses to distraction, greatly increasing kicking.”(8) “Our bodies are 70 percent water, and thus excellent conductors for sound and vibration. We do not hear just with our ears, but literally feel vibration’s sound with every cell in our body. Disharmony and noise, whether from traffic, the boss yelling at us about a deadline, or a jackhammer on the street can make us stressed, depressed, and pessimistic–all of which depress our immune systems. That is why disharmony can eventually lead to disease.”(9) “Our own voices are very underutilized healing tools. Singing is a great way to tap music’s healing power. If you are self-conscious, try chanting. Anyone can do it, and you can’t do it wrong. We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg as far as the incredible power of sound to affect every cell and every organ system in our bodies.”(10) The Qur’an says: He fashioned him in due proportion and breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding). Little thanks do you give! (32:9, 16:78, 67:23). Dr. Keith Moore, professor and chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Toronto’s School of Medicine, writes in his most popular textbook on human embryology that the human embryo first gets the ears (hearing), then the eyes (sight), and next the brain (feeling and understanding or mental faculties) in that order, as mentioned in the above Qur’anic verses. On the other hand, very loud music with sounds louder than 90 decibels cause stress and ear damage. Pierce J. Howard, Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Cognitive Studies in Charlotte, NC, says: “Very loud music creates an altered state of consciousness akin to an alcoholic or drug-induced stupor that can become addictive.”(11)

The Mozart effect

Don Campbell, a composer, music researcher and teacher, healer and the author of The Mozart Effect, learned that he had a potentially fatal blood clot in an artery just below his brain. He shrunk the blood clot from more than 1.5-inch length to one-eighth of an inch by humming quietly for three to four minutes at a time, up to seven times a day. He did this for three weeks before he went back for a second brain scan. In The Mozart Effect, he writes: “You know music can affect your mood: it can make you feel happy, enchanted, inspired, wistful, excited, empowered, comforted, and heroic. Particular sounds, tones and rhythms can strengthen the mind, unlock the creative spirit, and miraculously, even heal the body. Exposure to sound, music, and other forms of vibration, beginning in-utero, can have a life long effect on health, learning and behavior.”(12) In conclusion, one should listen to a piece of music that one finds inspirational and uplifting. Dr. Ahmed al-Kadi of Florida’s Akbar Clinic conducted research on the healing power of listening to Qur’anic recitations. There is an urgent need for conducting more research on music therapy by Muslim physicians in the West and in the Muslim world.

Footnotes

1. Cayce, Edgar, “Readings on Music: Healing.” 1944. A free handout distributed by ARE (Association for Research and Enlightenment, 215, 67th St., Virginia Beach, VA 23451)
2. Nordoff, Paul and Clive Robbins, Therapy in Music for Handicapped Children, London, Gollancz, 1992
3. Cromie, William J., “Treating ills with music, from Anxiety to Alzheimer’s from Pain to Parkinson’s.” Harvard University Gazette, 22 August 2002
4. Burke, M. & Thomas, K., “Use of Physioacoustic Therapy to Reduce Pain During Physical Therapy for Total Knee Replacement Patients Over Age 55,” in Music Vibration and Health, Wigram, T. & Dileo, Ch. (Ed.), Jeffrey Books, Cherry Hill, NJ, USA, 1997
5. Noonan, Peggy. “Take two tunes and call me in the morning” USA Weekend Magazine-Health. Dec. 19, 1999
6. Gaynor, M. L., Sounds of Healing: A Physician Reveals the Therapeutic Power of Sound, Voice, and Music. Broadway Books, 1999
7. Gaynor, quoted by Peggy Noonan, Ibid 8 Gaynor, quoted by Peggy Noonan, Ibid
8. Gaynor, Ibid
9. Gaynor, Ibid
10. Howard, P. J. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain: Everyday Applications from Mind-Brain Research. Bard Press, 1999
11. Campbell, D., The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit. New York: Avon Books, 1997

References

• Alvin, J., Music Therapy. Basic Books, Inc. Publishers, New York. 1975.
• Campbell, D., The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit. New York: Avon Books, 1997.
• Coleman, J. M. et al. “The Effects of the Male and Female Singing and Speaking Voices on Selected Physiological and Behavioral Measures on Premature Infants in the Intensive Care Unit.” Int. J. Arts Med. 5, no. 2 (1997): 4-11.
• Gaynor, M. L., Sounds of Healing: A Physician Reveals the Therapeutic Power of Sound, Voice, and Music. Broadway Books: 1999.
• Gerber, S., “The Sound of Healing. Every Culture in the World Has Used Sound and Music To Heal. Finally We Are Catching Up.” Vegetarian Times, 247 (March 1998): 68-74. Harrar, S., “Got Pain? Got the Blues? Try the MUSIC CURE.” Prevention 51, no. 18 (1995): 100.
• Howard, P. J. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain: Everyday Applications from Mind-Brain Research. Bard Press: 1999,
• Moore, K. L. and Persaud, T. V. N. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology. Philadelphia: Saunders W. B. Co., 1998.
• Syed, I. B. “Medicine and Medical Education.” In Islamic Perspectives in Medicine, edited by S. Athar. Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1993, 45-56.

An exact science is expressed in the highly sophisticated language of mathematics, whereas Sufism is based on meditation and insists that the Sufis’ insight cannot be verbalized. Reality, as experienced by Sufis, is completely indeterminate and undifferentiated. They do not see the intellect as their source of knowledge, but merely use it to analyze and interpret their personal experience.

The parallel between scientific experiments and Sufi experiences may seem surprising due to the very different nature of observation. Physicists perform experiments involving elaborate teamwork and highly sophisticated technology; Sufis obtain their knowledge purely through introspection, without machinery, and in the privacy of dhikr (meditation). Repeating an experiment in elementary particle physics requires many years of training; deep Sufi experience generally requires many years of training under an experienced master. The complexity and efficiency of the physicist’s technical apparatus is matched, if not surpassed, by the Sufi’s consciousness, both physical and spiritual, while in deep dhikr. Thus scientists and Sufis have developed highly sophisticated methods of observing nature that are inaccessible to the layperson.

Dhikr

Dhikr seeks to silence the mind and shift awareness from the rational to the intuitive mode of consciousness. This is achieved by concentrating on one item, like breathing or focusing on the sound of Allah or la ilaha illa Allah. Even prayer, which is considered dhikr to silence the mind, leads to feelings of peace and serenity that are characteristic of dhikr’s more static forms. These skills are used to develop the meditative mode of consciousness.

In dhikr, the mind is emptied of all thoughts and concepts and thus prepared to function for long periods through its intuitive mode. When the rational mind is silenced, the intuitive mode produces an extraordinary awareness, for the environment is experienced without the filter of conceptual thinking. This meditative state’s main characteristic is the experience of oneness with the surrounding environment, a state of consciousness in which fragmentation ceases and fades into undifferentiated unity.

Insight into reality

Sufism is based on direct insights into the nature of reality; physics is based on observing natural phenomena in scientific experiments. In physics, models and theories are approximate and basic to modern scientific research. Thus Einstein’s aphorism: As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. (1) Whenever the intellect analyzes the essential nature of things, it must seem absurd or paradoxical. Sufis have always recognized this, but it has recently become a problem in science.

A great variety of natural phenomena belong to the scientists’ macroscopic environment and thus to the realm of their sensory experience. Since their language’s images and intellectual concepts are abstracted from this very experience, they are limited to describing natural phenomena. But since the atomic and subatomic worlds lie beyond our sensory perception, knowledge of them is no longer derived from direct sensory experience. Thus our ordinary language, with its images from the world of the senses, is no longer adequate to describe the observed phenomena.

As we penetrate deeper into nature, we have to abandon more of the images and concepts of ordinary language. By probing inside the atom and investigating its structure, science transcended the limits of our sensory imagination and thus could no longer rely with absolute certainty on logic and common sense. Quantum physics provided scientists with the first glimpses of the essential nature of things. Like Sufis, physicists now deal with a nonsensory experience of reality and encounter the paradoxical aspects of this experience. As a result, the models and images of modern physics are akin to those of the Sufis.

The problem of communication

Scientists realized that our common language cannot describe atomic and subatomic reality. With the advent of relativity and quantum mechanics in physics, it became clear that this new knowledge transcends classical logic and cannot be described in ordinary language. Sufis have always realized that reality transcends ordinary language and were not afraid to go beyond logic and common concepts. The problem of language faced by both Sufis and physicists is the same: Both want to communicate their knowledge, but when they do so with words their statements are paradoxical and full of logical contradictions.

The duality of light

In quantum physics, many paradoxical situations are connected with light’s dual nature or, more generally, with electromagnetic radiation. Light produces interference phenomena, which is associated with waves of light. This is observed when two sources of light are used, for the end result is bright and dim patterns of light. On the other hand, electromagnetic radiation also produces the photoelectric effect: when short wave length light (e.g., ultraviolet light, x-rays, or gamma rays) strike the surface of some metals, they can knock off electrons from the surface. Therefore, the surface must consist of moving particles.

In the early stages of quantum theory, physicists were puzzled by how electromagnetic radiation could consist of particles (entities confined to a very small volume) and waves (which spread over a large area in space) simultaneously. Neither language nor imagination could deal very well with this kind of reality.

Sufism has developed several ways of dealing with reality’s paradoxical aspects. The works of Attar (d.1299), Hafiz (14th century), Ibn al-˜Arabi (d. 1240), Rumi (d. 1273), Bistami (d. 875), and others are full of intriguing contradictions. Furthermore, their compact, powerful, and extremely poetic language is meant to throw the reader’s mind off its familiar tracks of logical reasoning. Heisenberg once asked Bohr: Can nature possibly be so absurd as it seemed to us in these atomic experiments?(2)

Our sensory experiences, whose realm is the macroscopic world, allow us to draw images and intellectual concepts and express them in a language. This language was sufficient and adequate for describing natural phenomena. The Newtonian mechanistic model of the universe described the macroscopic world. In the twentieth century, physicists verified the existence of atoms and subatomic particles, the ultimate building blocks of nature, through experimentation. As these particles are beyond our sensory perceptions, our knowledge of them is no longer derived from direct sensory experience. Thus we face the problems mentioned earlier when dealing with the essential nature of things.

Modern physics

Sufis say that the direct mystical experience of reality is a momentous event that shakes the very foundations of one’s worldview, that it is the most startling event that can happen in the realm of human consciousness, and that it upsets every form of standardized experience. Some Sufis describe it as the bottom of a pail breaking through.

Physicists in the early part of the twentieth century felt much the same way when this new atomic reality shook their worldview’s foundations. They described it in terms that often were very similar to those used by Sufis. Thus Heisenberg wrote: Recent developments in modern physics can only be understood when one realizes that here the foundations of physics have started moving; and that this motion has caused the feeling that the ground would be cut from science.(3)

The discoveries of modern physics necessitated profound changes in such concepts as space, time, matter, object, and cause and effect. Since such concepts are so basic to our way of experiencing the world, those physicists who were forced to change them felt something of a shock. Out of these changes, a new and radically different worldview was born and continues to be formulated. Quantum theory implies the essential interconnectedness of nature, thus forcing us to see the universe not as a collection of physical objects but as a complicated web of relations between the various parts of a unified whole. This is how Sufis experience the world.

Space-time

Sufis seem to attain nonordinary states of consciousness that allow them to transcend the three-dimensional world of everyday life and experience a higher, multidimensional reality. In relativistic physics, if one can visualize the four-dimensional space“time reality, there would be nothing paradoxical at all. Sufis have notions of space and time that are very similar to those implied by relativity theory.

In Sufism, there seems to be a strong intuition for the space“time character of reality. Sufis experience a state of complete dissolution in which there is no distinction between mind and body, subject and object. In a state of pure experience, there is no space without time and no time without space, for they are interpenetrating. Physicists base their notion of space“time on scientific experiments, whereas Sufis base it on Sufism.

Modern physics’ relativistic models and theories illustrate the two basic elements of Sufism’s worldview: the universe’s oneness and intrinsically dynamic character. Space is curved to different degrees, and time flows at different rates in different parts of the universe. As our notions of a three-dimensional Euclidean space and time’s linear flow are limited to our ordinary experience of the physical world, they have to be abandoned when we extend this experience.

Sufis talk of extending their experience of the world in higher states of consciousness, and affirm that these states involve a radically different experience of space and time. They emphasize that they go beyond ordinary three-dimensional space in meditation, and, even more forcefully, that they transcend the ordinary awareness of time. Insteadof a linear succession of instants, they experience an infinite, timeless, and yet dynamic present. The spiritual world contains no time divisions such as past, present, and future, for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present, where life quivers in its true sense.

Mass“energy equivalence

Einstein showed mass“energy equivalence through a simple mathematical equation: E=mc2. Physicists measure a particle’s mass in the corresponding energy units. The discovery that mass is nothing but a form of energy forced us to modify our concept of a particle in an essential way. Hence particles are seen as quanta (bundles) of energy and as not consisting of any basic stuff. But energy is associated with activity and processes, which means that subatomic particles have an intrinsically dynamic nature and are forms in four-dimensional entities in space“time. Therefore they have both a space and a time aspect: their space aspect makes them appear as objects with a certain mass, and their time aspect makes them appear as processes involving the equivalent energy.

When subatomic particles are observed, we never see them as any substance. All we see is continuously changing patterns of one to the other, a continuos dance of energy. The subatomic world’s particles are not only active in the sense of moving very quickly, but are processes. Matter’s existence and activity cannot be separated, for they are only different aspects of the same space“time reality.

In their nonordinary states of consciousness, Sufis seem to be aware of the interpenetration of space and time at a macroscopic level. Thus they see the macroscopic world in a way that is very similar to physicists’ idea of subatomic particles. For Sufis, all compounded things are impermanent. The reality underlying all phenomena is beyond all forms and defies all description and specification. Hence it is formless, empty, void. Sufis consider the world’s phenomena to be nothing but illusory manifestations of the mind and as having no reality of their own.

Conclusion

Modern physics’ principal theories and models lead to a view of the world that is internally consistent and in perfect harmony with that of Sufism. The significance of their parallel views is beyond doubt. Both emerge when researchers inquire into the essential nature of thingsinto the deeper realms of matter in physics and into the deeper realms of consciousness in Sufismwhen they discover a different reality behind the superficial mundane appearance of everyday life. Physicists derive their knowledge from experimentation, whereas Sufis acquire their knowledge by meditative insight. Sufis look within and explore their consciousness at its various levels. In fact, the Sufi’s experience of his or her body is often seen as the key to their experience of the world.

Another similarity is that both groups’ observations take place in realms that are inaccessible to the ordinary senses: the realms of the atomic and subatomic worlds for physicists, and the nonordinary states of consciousness, in which the sense world is transcended, for Sufis. For both groups, these multidimensional experiences transcend the sensory world and thus are almost impossible to express in ordinary language.

Quantum physics and Sufism are two complementary manifestations of the human mind’s rational and intuitive faculties. Modern physicists experience the world through the rational mind’s extreme specialization; Sufis experience it through the intuitive mind’s extreme specialization. Both are necessary for a fuller understanding of the world. Sufism is necessary to understand the deepest nature of things, and science is essential for modern life. Therefore we need a dynamic interplay between Sufi intuition and scientific analysis.

Footnotes

1. Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffmann, eds., Albert Einstein: The Human Side (Princeton University Press, 1981); Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics (New York: Bantam New Age Books, 1980), 27.
2. Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1958), 42.
3. Ibid., 167.

References

1. Capra, Fritjof. The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism. Boston: Shambhala, 1980.
2. Dukas, Helen and Banesh Hoffmann, eds. Albert Einstein: The Human Side. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981.
3. Einstein, Albert. Essays in Science. New York: Philosophical Library, 1934.
4. . Out of My Later Years. New York: Philosophical Library, 1950.
5. Ernst, Carl. Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997.
6. Heisenberg, Walter. The Physicist’s Conception of Nature. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1958.
7. . Physics and Philosophy. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1958.
8. . Across the Frontiers. New York: Harper and Row, 1974.
9. Karplus, Robert. Physics and Man. New York: W. A. Benjamin, Inc., 1970.
10. Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan. Awakening: A Sufi Experience. New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1999.
11. Schrodinger, Ewin. My View of the World. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1964.
12. Schrodinger, Erwin and Roger Penrose. What is Life? Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1967.
13. Wilber, Ken ed. Quantum Questions: Mystical Writings of the World’s Great Physicists. Boston: Shambhala, 1984.
14. Zukav, Gary and David Finkelstein. The Dancing Wu-Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics. New York: Bantam New Age Books, 1994.

The Biblical account, found in Genesis 2:4-3:24, has been fundamental in religious and social life. As a primal depiction of man and woman and their roles and relationships, it functioned as a constitutive element in establishing social and religious concepts as we know them today.

Two of the most debated topics are Eve’s supposed inferiority to Adam, as she was created from one of his ribs, and that she is a temptress who caused humanity’s fall and expulsion from the Garden by persuading Adam to join her in eating the forbidden fruit.

Islam has a different interpretation of these events.

Male and female equality

While the Qur’an does not mention a rib, it is mentioned in a hadith. However, many experts believe that that particular hadith has been misinterpreted and is not really relevant to this matter. (1)

Whenever the Qur’an discusses humanity’s creation, it focuses not on who was created first or on gender, but on the broader concept of the creation: O men! Fear your Lord Who created you from a single original human self, and out of it created its mate; and out of the two spread many men and women (4:1). The original Arabic for a single original human self is nafs wahida (a single self or soul). Nafs has two cardinal meanings: a being’s self, and the animating energy or faculty that is the source or mechanism of the person’s or jinn’s life. Thus, the preferred translation of nafs wahida is a single original human self.

This translation is supported by other Qur’anic verses: And of His signs is that He created for you, from your selves, mates, that you might repose in them, and He has engendered love and mercy between you (30:21); God has given you, from your selves, mates, and He has given you, from your mates, children and grandchildren (16:72); The Originator of the heavens and Earth; He has given you, from your selves, mates, and from the cattle mates (42:11).

The first couple

O Adam! Dwell you, and your wife, in the Garden, and eat (of the fruits) thereof to your hearts’ content where you desire, but approach not this tree, or you shall both be among the wrongdoers.

The first couple led a life of bounty in the Garden. They did not need to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. But the tree was a predestined element in the humanity’s life. As humanity is easily tempted into disobedience, the tree was a test. It brought out the weak side of humanity. Adam and Eve knew the risk associated with this act, for God had made it clear to them that Satan was their enemy and what they could expect if they obeyed him.

Then Satan whispered to him, saying: O Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away? Then they both ate of the tree, and so their private parts appeared to them, and they began to stick on themselves the leaves from the Garden for their covering. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he fell into error(20:120-21).

Notice the pronouns. Eve is not the sole wrongdoer or tempter, as she is portrayed in the Bible and the Torah. The Qur’an holds both Adam and Eve responsible for the mutual disobedience, and casts Satan as the tempter and enemy, for he was the one who whispered to Adam. Rather than blaming and curing the couple, God accepts their repentance and forgives them, saying that they had forgotten and blundered. There is no expulsion from the Garden by a fierce and unforgiving God who hangs a fiery sword above the gate to ensure that they will never return.

In Genesis, Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames the serpent (Satan) for their misfortune. The Qur’an depicts a more modest and mature reaction. There is no blaming, but rather two people admitting their mistake and seeking God’s forgiveness: They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall

certainly be of the losers (7:23).

Humanity is not destined to be banished forever. True, they have been dismissed from it, but they still have the hope of return. Thus, after a period of mourning and regret, God forgave Adam and made him His first Prophet: Then his Lord chose him, turned to him with forgiveness, and gave him guidance (20:122).

The image of Eve

The story of Eve is found in the second creation story in Genesis. After this, the Bible does not mention Eve, the temptress or refer to women of bad reputation as Daughters of Eve. However, the early Church fathers developed this interpretation and imagery, and thus referred to Eve (and women in general) as their first mother who was seduced by Satan and so brought death to humanity.(2)

Tertullian, a second century theologian, reminds women of their shameful legacy: And do you not know that you are (each) an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the devil’s gateway: you are the unsealer of that forbidden tree: you are the first deserter of the Divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack.

Many people, especially feminist activists, fought against the idea of the Fall because it encouraged society to think of women in very negative terms. Eve (evil) was the primal source of blame for human suffering. Therefore, women must endure pain at childbirth and subjection to their husbands, men must toiland eat the sweat of their brow, and all humanity must taste a bitter death.

The images of these monstrous fertile women with supernatural powers were sealed in the minds of early believers, and contributed to the generally negative attitude toward women. The parallels with Eve’s image are obvious, and their effects can be seen in religious illustrations of the Fall painted during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

Ave and Eva

Mary was presented as a substitute for Eve: the new Eve. With her came the hope that humanity could re-enter the Garden. Mary (Ave), the absolute opposite of Eve (Eva), obeyed Gabriel (and through him God); Eve obeyed Satan. Mary was a symbol of innocence and chastity; Eve represented corruptive sexual desire. Mary was the mother of God; Eve was to be the mother of all mortals. Mary brought mercy and salvation; Eve brought death and destruction.

There was an underlying feeling that women (Eve) could be blessed (Mary) if they suppressed their femininity, the alleged source of human weakness and disobedience.Christian women followed the image of Mary to be closer to God. They remained virgins, as virginity was the innocent state of the Garden. Some chose a monastic life, for such a lifestyle enabled them to pursue a somewhat intellectual and active life instead of the traditional role of mother and wife. Such women traveled to the Holy Land, engaged in scholarly dispute with fellow nuns, and enjoyed social respect and authority.

The early Church fathers promoted celibacy over fourth-century Roman society’s objections. Stories about Thecla, a woman who followed Paul’s call to a virgin life, were popular among Roman women. She refused to marry her appointed husband, cut her hair short like a man, and followed Paul as he preached all over the country. Once she was harassed by a king who had her thrown to wild beasts when she refused to comply with his wishes. Her strong belief and Divine protection saved her from this and many other such events.

If all women chose to remain virgins, however, humanity would disappear. The Bible told men to increase and multiply. Jerome, an early Church father, stated that he praised wedlock and marriage, for the result was virgins.

Reform and the woman’s bible

The Protestant Reform, brought on by Martin Luther (1483-1546), led to a critical study of biblical concepts. The Church considered marriage as inferior to virginity, and sexual and domestic relations were shadowed by the interpretations of the Adam and Eve story. However, reformists found Divine sanction for marriage: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Genesis 2:18).

By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, female moralists and activists were seeking to change society’s view of woman as a victim of sinful nature. They discussed such issues as female education, equal rights to employment, and possession of goods throughout society via literature, poetry, and protest meetings. In her novel Shirley (1849), Charlotte Bronte condemned a social system which requires women to scheme,’ to plot,’ to flirt’ and manoeuvre in order to win a husband.3 Women argued that beliefs like if a woman can cook a dinner or dress herself well she has culture enough were forcing women into being mischievous and empty-minded Eves.

The Woman’s Bible, published in 1895, was a collection of essays written by women opposed to the Bible’s portrayal of women. In one essay, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) wrote that the Darwinian theory of evolution was less degrading for women than the allegory of Eden.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, human interpretations of holy texts have caused many people to abandon religion, and the truth for which they are searching is often hidden by shadows of ignorance and prejudice. Even worse is that Islam is usually overlooked as a pure source of Divine Knowledge. Ignorance and misrepresentation by Muslims, and prejudice by non-Muslims, have polluted the clear image of Islam’s message: No one can be judged for another’s sins.

Footnotes

1. Found in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
2. The Qur’an does not mention Eve by name. Various hadiths call her Hawwa (created from a living thing). Muslims honor this wife of the first Prophet and mother of all believers by calling her Mother Hawwa.
3. Pamela Norris, Eve: A Bibliography (New York: New York Univ. Press, 1999), 292.

References

• Al-Hilali, Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din (interpreter). Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Quran.
• Saudi Arabia: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 1994.
• Armstrong, Karen. In the Beginning. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.
• Kurucan, Ahmet. Dusunce Kaymalari. Izmir: Kaynak A.S., 1996.
• Kvam, Kristen E., Schearing, Linda S, and Ziegler, Valarie H. (editors). Eve & Adam: Jewish, Christian and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington and Indiana: Indiana Univ. Press, 1999.
• Norris, Pamela. Eve, A Bibliography. New York: New York Univ. Press, 1999.

Authoritarian Parents

Authoritarian parenting, also termed dictatorial or harsh, is low on warmth/nurturance, strict on discipline, high in parent-to-child communication but low in child-to-parent communication, and high on expectation. This style has been predominant throughout Western history: “It was effective in status quo times, for example in agrarian-industrial societies” (Dinwiddie 1995).

Authoritarian parents show little affection and “seem aloof from their children” (Berger 2001, 283). Parents instruct and order, do not consider the children’s opinion as a group, and discourage verbal give-and-take (Gonzalez-Mena 1993). Obedience, respect, and tradition are highly valued. Rules are non-nogoliable, parents are always right, and disobedient children are punished-often physically. However, parents “do not cross the line to physical abuse” (Berger 2001, 283). As children obey their parents in order to avoid punishment, they become passive. Authoritarian parents also expect a level of maturity higher than the norm for their child’s particular age group: “The authoritarian parents assign the child the same responsibilities as adults” (Scarr, Weinberg, and Levine 1986, 306). Responsiveness is low, as the approach is parent-centered and stresses the parent’s needs.

This almost noninteractive style has serious developmental drawbacks (Daniel, Wassell, and Gilligan 1999). Children are more susceptible to antisocial peer pressure during adolescence, a time when peer influence is the greatest (Collins et al. 2000); learn not to discuss issues with their parents (why bother if you are always wrong or ignored?); and are influenced greatly by their peers. Often frustrated, they distance themselves from their parents by rebelling against the latter’s values and beliefs.

Steinberg et al. (1994) reveals that boys in this category have the highest level of violence. Steinberg (1996) shows that these teenagers are less self-reliant, persistent, and socially poised, and have lower self-esteem. In addition, there is a strong inverse correlation between such authoritarianism and good grades. Other research indicates that they lack social competence and rarely initiate activities: “They show less intellectual curiosity, are not spontaneous and usually rely on the voice of authority” (Parenting n.d.).

Permissive Parents

Permissive parenting, also labeled as neglectful or disengaged parenting, is high on warmth, very low on discipline and structure, low in parent-to-child communication but high in child-to-parent communication, and low on expectation. This style was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. The fact that many German children and adults had followed Hitler led people to attribute this to Germany’s authoritarian home environment, which demanded unquestioning obedience. Thus their parents “conditioned” them for Hitler. (Dinwiddie 1995). Hoping to counteract such undesirable side-effects, they became permissive.

Permissive parents are nurturing, warm, and accepting. Their main concerns are to let children express their creativity and individuality and to make them happy (Neal 2000), in the belief that this will teach them right from wrong (Berger 2001). Permissive parents find it hard to set clear limits, provide structure, are inconsistent disciplinarians (Huxley 1998), and reward bad behavior regularly (Dworkin 1997). Children are not pushed to obey guidelines or standards that, even when they do exist, are not enforced (Barakat and Clark 1999).

Permissive parents take orders and instructions from their children, are passive, endow children with power (Gonzalez-Mena 1993; Garbarino and Abramowitz 1992), have low expectations, use minimal discipline, and do not feel responsible for how their children turn out.

Ironically, these children turn out to be the unhappiest of all (Neal 2000). They are more likely to exhibit such psychological problems as anxiety and depression (Steinberg 1996), are the second group (after authoritarian) most likely to commit violence (Steinberg et al. 1994), and engage in antisocial behavior (Simons, Lin, and Gordon 1998). Research links permissive parents with delinquency, substance abuse, and sexual activity (Snyder and Sickmund 2000; Jacobson and Crockett 2000].

In effect, parents teach their children that they can get their way by manipulating others: “Children learn a false sense of control over adults that increases their manipulative behavior” (Huxley 1998). Later on, they do poorly in school, have higher rates of misbehavior in areas involving adult authority, and “may also grow up manipulating around rules because those are not firm” (Thinking n.d.).

As they have not been taught how to control or discipline themselves, they are less likely to develop self-respect. This lack of discipline and structure engenders a desire for some type of control, and so they put “a lot of energy into controlling parents and trying to get parents to control them” (Gonzalez-Mena 1993, 157).

Their unmet psychological needs make them “vulnerable to being easily discouraged by everyday problems and turns the child away from full and satisfying participation in the world” (Garbarino and Abramowilz 1992, 42). This, in turn, hinders their social development, self-esteem, and positive self-concept. Without high expectations to realize, “children of permissive parents generally have difficulty controlling their impulses, are immature, and reluctant to accept responsibility” (Parenting n.d.).

Steinberg (1996) shows a strong correlation between permissive parenting and poor grades in families where parents are not involved in their children’s education and do not initiate a give-and-take relationship with their children. Other negative outcomes are sleep disturbances (Dworkin 1997) and feelings of insecurity.

Authoritative Parents

Authoritative parenting is high on warmth, moderate on discipline, high in communication, and moderate in expectations of maturity. This style is becoming more pervasive in the West. Authoritative parents are warm and nurturing, create a loving home environment, and provide a high degree of emotional support (Ingersoll 1989). Unlike permissive parents, they are firm, consistent, and fair (Barakat and Clark 1999).

Authoritative parents discipline through rational and issue-oriented strategies in order to promote their children’s autonomy while ensuring conformity to group standards (Marion 1999). They establish and enforce behavior standards (Glasgow et al. 1997) and stay in control. “Family rule is democratic [rather] than dictatorial” (Berger 2001, 283). Parents use reason, negotiation, and persuasion-not force-to gain their children’s cooperation (Marion 1999). Their listening-demanding ratio is roughly equal.

Children are given alternatives, encouraged to decide, and accept responsibility for their actions and decisions. The end result is self-empowerment (Barakat arid Clark 1999). When the children’s opinions are valued and respected, both children and parents benefit (Marion 1999; Gonzalez-Mena 1993).

Authoritative parents set developmentally appropriate limits and

standards for behavior. They make it clear that they will help their children. If their demands are not met, they are forgiving and understanding rather than punitive (Glasgow et al. 1997; Berger 2000). Overall, this parenting style is high on mutual understanding and based on reciprocity.

In fact, both parties benefit. Developmental opportunities are provided for children, as the quality of interaction and nurturance is high and expectations are realistic (Garbarino and Abramowilz 1992). In addition, such parents are more likely to encourage academic success (Glasgow et al. 1997), which has a positive correlation with good grades (Steinberg, 1996). This can be attributed to parental involvement in their children’s education and their use of open, give-and-take communication through family reading, writing, and discussions.

Research also shows that these children are less influenced by negative pefir pressure and develop successful peer relationships (Collins et al. 2000). As authoritative parenting provides a balance between control and independence, il produces competent, socially responsible, self-assured, and independent children (Gonzalez-Mena 1993). Children are more likely to develop high self-esteem, positive self-concept, greater self-worth, less rebellion, and generally are more successful in life.

Furthermore, they are the best adjusted of all children. According to Thinking (n.d), they ranked highest in self-respect, capacity to conform to authority, and greater interest in the parents’ faith in God. They also respect authority, are accountable, and control their impulses. Steinberg (1996) shows that they are more confident and responsible, less likely to use or abuse drugs or alcohol, and less likely to be involved in delinquency. These children also reported less anxiety and depression and the least amount of violence (Steinberg et al. 1994).

Conclusion

Western culture places great importance on planning for children and their upbringing. Hence, parents-to-be spend a great deal of time thinking about everything-from which brand of diapers to use to which college they want their child to attend. However, less importance is given to parenting style. Research has proven repeatedly that parenting styles have a “direct correlation with how children will grow up, how they live and whether they will abide by the rules in society” (Thinking n.d.). Therefore parents-to-be must analyze different parenting styles, their effects, and what works best for them and their child.

References

• Barakat, I. S. and J. A. Clark. “Positive Discipline and Child Guidance.” 1999. Online at: http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/hesguide/humanrel/ gh6119.htm [25.3.2000].
• Berger, K. S. The Developing Person throughout the Lifespan. 5th ed. New York: 2001.
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The movie makers probably did not intend to make killing look attractive. But was it the final effect anyways? Do movies depicting indecent acts fail to show the consequences sufficiently? What can society do about this trend? These and similar questions have been asked and debated for decades. Below, we analyze a time in Hollywood when the concentrated efforts of concerned individuals and organizations had a significant positive impact on forcing the movie industry to move toward self-regulation.

The Beginning of the Movie Industry

Movies rose as a new form of entertainment at the turn of twentieth century. By the 1920s, 40 million Americans were watching them each week. After winning the right to vote in 1920, flapper girls were exercising their new-found freedom, Harlem nightclubs flourished with whites with an interest in African American culture, and the number of gangs selling liquor during Prohibition increased. Movie producers displayed these value changes in their films to attract more young people. This started the big fight between America’s moral guardians and the movie makers.

Hollywood scandals in the early 1920s accelerated the demand for movie censorship. In 1921, the famous comedian Fatty Arbuckle was accused of raping and murdering a young actress; director William Desmond Taylor was found murdered, and a series of front page stories revealed his drug use and sex life; actor Wallace Reid died of a drug overdose; and America’s “sweetheart,” Mary Pickford, got a quick divorce to marry Douglas Fairbanks.

The motion picture business had become an industry. Film companies seeking to integrate production, distribution, and exhibition had one formula in mind: expansion meant capital, capital meant Wall Street, and Wall Street meant conservative business practices. They could not afford any scandals or federal investigations of Hollywood.

The Pressure for Codes Builds

Leff and Simmons write: “In 1921 alone, solons in thirty-seven states introduced nearly one hundred bills designed to censor motion pictures. Women could not smoke on screen in Kansas but could in Ohio; a pregnant woman could not appear on screen in Pennsylvania but could in New York. Six censorship states, which controlled over thirty percent of the theater seats in America, condemned illegitimacy and sexual deviance.”(1) State censors recut films after the producers, and the outcome was unfavorable. Local exhibitors were tired of the cost of censor cuts and attacks by the public and the media. In January 1922, the movie company presidents formed a trade association, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributers of America (MPPDA). Postmaster General Will Hays, an ex-Republican national chairman with White House connections, was chosen as their head. He was a great success as a spokesperson, but failed as a censor regulator of movie content.

Under Hays, Hollywood instituted a morals clause that, as part of the standard employment contract, regulated performers’ off-screen lives: “The artist agrees to conduct himself with due regard to public conventions and morals and agrees that he will not do or commit any act or thing that will tend to degrade him in society or bring him into public hatred, contempt, scorn or ridicule, or that will tend to shock, insult or offend the community or ridicule public morals or decency or prejudice the producer or the motion picture industry in general.”(2) Furious with such self-regulation and restraints, many ignored the contract, and so the scandals continued.

A mainly Protestant anti-movie lobby grew larger and more threatening in the mid-1920s. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), the Reverand William H. Short’s Motion Picture Research Council, and Canon William Shaefe Chase’s Federal Motion Picture Council, among others, all lobbied for federal action. Supporters of cencorship bills claimed that movies were immoral, vile, and corrupting young people. With the advent of —talking— films, the moral guardians of America faced a bigger threat: movies were more popular and dialogue challenged public norms. According to Black: —In 1928 the New York State censorship board cut over 4,000 scenes from more than 600 films submitted, and Chicago censors sliced more than 600 scenes.—(3) Martin Quigley, owner and publisher of the industry trade journal Exhibitors Herald-World, initiated in 1929 the first attempt by Catholics to influence the film industry. Believing that government censorship was futile, he began thinking of a code that would include rules, regulations, and philosophy. Father FitzGeorge Dinneen, Chicago censor board advisor, sent him to Father Daniel Lord, a St. Louis University professor who could write the document. The resulting production code had three working principles:

• No picture should lower the moral standards of those who see it.

• Law, natural or divine, must not belittled, ridiculed, nor must a sentiment be created against it.

• As far as possible, life should not be misrepresented, at least not in such a way as to place in the mind of youth false values of life.(4)

The production code termed movies entertainment, and those who made them were obligated to produce —correct entertainment— for mass audiences. Movies had a profound impact on the —bodies and souls of human beings,— and could —affect spiritual and moral progress.— Hays saw the code in early 1930. He later wrote: —My eyes nearly popped out when I read it. This was the very thing I had been looking for.—(5) The code announced specific limitations on language and behavior. Lots of offensive words and phrases were banned, and the ridicule of religion, nudity, evocative dances, depiction of illegal drug use, and scenes of childbirth were prohibited. The code was explicit when it came to on-screen crime and sex:

I. Crimes against the Law

These shall never be presented in such a way as to throw sympathy with the crime as against law and justice or to inspire others with a desire for imitation.

1. Murder

1. The technique of murder must be presented in a way that will not inspire imitation
2.  Brutal killings are not to be presented in detail c. Revenge in modern times shall not be justified

2. Methods of crime should not be explicitly presented

1. Theft, robbery, safe cracking, and dynamiting of trains, mines, buildings, etc., should not be detailed in method
2. Arson must be subject to the same safeguards
3. The use of firearms should be restricted to essentials d. Methods of smuggling should not be presented

3. Illegal drug traffic must never be presented a. The use of liquor in American life, when not required by the plot or for proper characterization, will not be shown.

II. Sex

The sanctity of the institution of marriage and the home shall be upheld. Pictures shall not interfere that low forms of sex relationship are the accepted or common thing. 1. Adultery, sometimes necessary plot material, must not be explicitly treated, or justified, or presented attractively. 2. Scenes of Passion a. They should not be introduced when not essential to the plot. b. Excessive and lustful kissing, lustful embraces, suggestive postures and gestures, are not to be shown. c. In general passion should so be treated that these scenes do not simulate the lower and baser element.(6) Interestingly, the above principles set forth by a Catholic scholar were in perfect accord with the moral codes of Islam, another Abrahamic religion that prohibits the vivid depiction of actions not approved by God.(7) By the beginning of the Depression, film studios turned increasingly to themes of sex and violence to attract audiences. Finally, Hays used the resulting public reaction to persuade the studios that enforcing the code would be the most secure and economical answer to their troubles. If the movie industry regulated itself, it could prevent likely government intervention. The film companies were in debt, having spent a lot of money to introduce sound, and many had lost money in the stock market crash of 1929. Desperate to cut costs, they decided to avoid paying to revise the film after the censorship boards made their edits, by following the code before making their movies. The code was adopted in 1930.

Joe Breen Gets Involved

During 1930-34, movie producers ignored and openly mocked the code. The pressure continued from the Catholic Church with the support from Jewish and Protestant leaders. In 1934 Joe Breen, a strict Catholic moralist working as a public relations man for the production code in Hay’s office, was hired to run Hollywood’s Production Code Administration (PCA). Breen brought new standards: —The PCA had the authority to review all movies and demand script changes. Any theater that ran a film without the PCA seal of approval would be fined $25,000.—(8) Finally the Code had some power. Studios accepted it and produced films that met Breen’s standards. Largely because of his efforts to get the code implemented, it has become known as Breen’s Code. It lasted for more than two decades, being officially abandoned only in 1968. Breen’s Code is a perfect example of people affecting the behavior of institutions whose motives may not match the best interests of the people they serve. By expressing their dissatisfaction and organizing to pressure the motion picture industry, Americans managed to change the nature of the movie industry’s products toward higher moral standards held in common by most monotheistic religions. As we go into the twenty-first century, there are many areas in which people of faith can work together to make a positive change in their societies and the world

Footnotes

1. Six states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, New York, Maryland, Kansas, and Virginia. Leonard J. Leff, and Jerold L. Simmons, The Dame in the Kimono (New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1990), 4.
2. Ibid., 5.
3. Gregory D. Black, Hollywood Censored (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 34.
4. Leff and Simmons, The Dame in the Kimono, 284-85.
5. Black, Hollywood Censored, 40.
6. Leff and Simmons, The Dame in the Kimono, 284-85.
7. Bukhari, —The Prophets,— No. 8.
8. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/beyond/hollywood.html.

Additional References

• O’Connor, John E. and Jackson, Martin A. (eds.). American History/American Film.
• New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1979. Walsh, Frank. Sin and Censorship. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.