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HUMAN NATURE

As has been discussed, human beings have a physical nature, which demands that their physical needs be satisfied if they are to survive and propagate as a species while on earth, and they have a spiritual nature that demands that their spiritual needs be satisfied if they are to be at peace with themselves. And human beings also have a human nature, by which they strive to both survive and to achieve peace and fulfillment in their lives.

In seeking these objectives human beings often fall short, and in the process brings upon both themselves and others much harm and suffering. Why is it that human beings are so destructive in their efforts, when it is their only intention to bring peace and harmony to themselves and to the world? The following briefly discusses some of the factors that affect human behavior.

THE GOAL OF HUMANITY

The behavioral psychologist John Watson, as stated before, viewed human behavior to be primarily conditioned responses to stimuli, and to be motivated by the “carrot and stick” principle of reward and punishment, as did Freud. Thus, we tend to strive for things which bring us pleasure, and to avoid those which cause us pain, although sometimes this is not apparent. We all know people who are “happy in their misery;” and there are others who are self-destructive.

A person who has developed such negative behavior patterns is still being responsive to the foregoing principle. The person may be afraid to be happy because of having been continually disappointed in his or her life’s expectancies and therefore is afraid of suffering disappointment again. And a self-destructive person may be trying to appease through self-punishment the pain of guilt caused by behavior inconsistent with the person’s conscience.

So, it might be said that a person’s behavior is directed towards the goal of avoiding pain as the person endeavors to achieve pleasure, joy, and contentment from life. Thus, we strive to gain as much happiness as possible in our voyage through life. But what is happiness, what is it that would make us truly happy?

Self-Esteem

A person’s self-esteem is a result of his or her experiences in life, and is contingent upon the person’s judgment as to the worth of himself or herself as a human being, for just as a person judges others as to their worth, the person is continually judging his or her own worth. How the person rates his or her worth as a human being is a measure of the person’s self-esteem, which may be low, high, or somewhere in between. A person’s self-esteem is continually changing as mood, circumstances, or experiences changes, and may be high in some areas, like being good in math, and low in others, like being poor in English, and will vary in different social settings. The self-esteem of a person is based not only upon how the person sees himself or herself, but on how the person perceives others as seeing him or her. As Sartre said, a person relates socially to others as a “Being-for-Others,” seeing himself or herself as reflected in the “look” of the other.

Although self-esteem may vary according to conditions, some persons harbor a general feeling of unworthiness unrelated to actual circumstances. Their low self-esteem may have developed in their adult years, but more often than not it stems from their early childhood experiences. A person who, for one reason or another, grows up having a low self-esteem carries around inside negative feelings about himself or herself, which may adversely influence his or her behavior all through life if not resolved.

Free Will

The human psyche, as has been discussed, functions to a large extent by mechanically responding to stimuli, with even thoughts being formulated in response to stimuli. The question then is, “Do human beings have free will in the choices they make, or do their thoughts, and therefore their behavioral choices, occur automatically as conditioned reflex responses to stimuli, so that behavior is predetermined by precedent causes?

There are two schools of thoughts on this question. One view is that human behavior is predetermined in accordance with the doctrine of “determinism.” Determinism grew out of the works of the seventeenth century British physicist Sir Isaac Newton, who saw the physical universe as a giant mechanical “world machine” comprised of a harmonious order of bodies governed by natural laws. According to Newton, everything that occurs in the physical world is predetermined, the necessary and inevitable result of antecedent, prior causes. The Determinists expanded Newton’s view of the physical universe to apply to the behavior of human beings, as well; that is, that human behavior is a result of prior factors that causes it, and is therefore predetermined.

The other position is that of “free will.” Advocates of free will claim that human beings are free do make their own choices. Descartes said it is only the behavior of the physical systems of man that are predetermined to act mechanically in response to stimuli. He claimed that the conscious, thinking, mental substance of man has free will to make moral and other choices, and are free agents in all their actions. Therefore, since antecedent causes are not responsible for the actions of an individual, he or she alone must accept complete responsibility for them.

Happiness

The ancient Greek philosophers believed happiness to be human beings ultimate purpose and main goal, and their highest moral good. Happiness, however, was not viewed as a life of continuous physical pleasure, but as resulting from a life devoted to virtuous behavior. Virtue, to the ancient Greek philosophers, was to act courageously and to pursue knowledge, for as espoused by Socrates, “To know the good, is to do the good.” However, as noted before, Plato did not consider expression of the elements of the appetites and emotions to be immoral, but that they be expressed in balanced harmony under the rule of reason. Aristotle added that in order for a person to be happy requires more than just the practice of virtue. It necessitates that the person be possess of such things as good health, family, friends, and adequate funds, as well.

Thus, according to the ancient Greek philosophers, the way to happiness is for man to actively seek happiness through leading a virtuous and moral life, as defined by them, governed by reason, and to possess the physical and emotional necessities of life. However, Hume’s view was that happiness comes from applying reason to aid us in our pursuit for gratification of our desires, rather than reason restricting their satisfaction; for it is our feelings that motivate and govern our actions. Therefore, reason should be slave to the passions, rather than the other way around.

DIVINE NATURE OF MAN

Likewise, a person should not neglect his or her physical nature. Physical exercise is necessary for a healthy, vigorous body, and leads to a healthy, vigorous mind. When a person feels ill and in pain, all his or her attention is given to getting well, and is diverted from all other pursuits. So maintaining good physical health is a prime requisite for good mental health; and, likewise, we know mental health can affect physical health.

There is nothing immoral about enjoying physical pleasures. It seems that sometimes we are so concerned with proving our self-worth that we neglect to enjoy the everyday natural pleasures of life. Would a loving God give us a desire for physical pleasures and then deny them to us? Of course, over-indulgence in physical pleasures can have reverse effects, whereby pleasure turns into pain, as noted by the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu. So, it would appear that God intends for to engage in them in moderation, as many philosophers of the past have advocated.

When we say one should not abstain from enjoying physical pleasures, we not referring specifically to sex, but to all forms of physical and sensual pleasures. Helen Keller got immense pleasure from nature even before her release from spiritual imprisonment. She says, “What a joy it was to lose myself in that garden of flowers, to wander happily from spot to spot,…But the roses — they were the loveliest of all…filling the whole air with their fragrance, untainted by any earthy smell; and in the early morning, washed in dew, they felt so soft, so pure…”

Human beings:

Human beings create, learn, and adapt culture. Culture helps us to understand ourselves as both individuals and members of various groups. Human cultures exhibit both similarities and differences. We all, for example, have systems of beliefs, knowledge, values, and traditions. Each system is also unique. In a democratic and multicultural society, students need to understand multiple perspectives that derive from different cultural vantage points. This understanding will allow them to relate to people in our nation and throughout the world.

Globalization:

Globalization has brought us today to the situation that we all live in a global village, where information and the speed of communication have almost totally erased the borders of time and space. This is surely a brand new experience for humankind, because it leaves the impression that the world is small and closed and that it is impossible to change the course of events. But, it is precisely here that the need for closer communication, dialogue, and understanding appears.

Partially due to the importance of pluralism for the modern world, and partially due to their own nature, Muslims today are called to enter into a dialogue with the People of the Book, Ehli Kitab, and with those positive movements that are found in the modern world, in order to build a just society in the concrete setting and historical time in which they live.

About Islam : Religion of Peace

Islam, one of the worlds major religions, is a monotheistic faith. It is based on five central tenets, which are known as the 5 Pillars of Islam:

* Faith (Shahada) Expressed through the fundamental statement of faith: There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet. * Prayer (Salat) Praying 5 times a day in a prescribed manner

* Charity (Zakat) All things belong to God, and wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust.

* Fasting (Sawm) Fasting is especially observed during the holy month of Ramadan.

* The Pilgrimage to Mecca (The Hajj)

The holy book of Islam is the Qur’an (also Quran, Koran, Alcoran). Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the word of Allah, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) over a 22 year period. The Quran consists of 114 suras, or chapters. The suras were recorded and writed by the followers of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) before he died.

Holidays of Muslims

Happy Eid Ul Adha to Muslims

Education:

Educating and raising my students and kids the best way I know how.

Education of women more important for humanity and world.

My puplicated book ABSTRACT

My PhD Thesis Publicated as “Kurân’da İnsan Tipleri ve Davranışları” in Turkish and “Human Types and Their Behavior in the Light of the Holy Qur’an”, tries to contribute a new approach to the Qur’an, through analyzing the other related social science. The Qur’an, Muslim’s Holy book, needs new and contemporary interpretations for its continuing its own validity and actuality.

The study consist of one introduction and three chapters. The introduction deals with the importance of the topic, its methods, comprehension, method and wellspring.

The first chapter examines the problem of “human beings and their behavior.” In addition, it elaborates the nature of human beings and the basis of human behavior from the psychological and Quranic perspective. At the same time we talk about knowledge, mind, intent and behavior relation and faith, worship and conduct relation and life comprehension and behavior relation too.

The second chapter traces “the human types and their behavior in the light of the Quran.” In this context, the believer (mü’min), the non-believer (kafir), the hypocrite (münafık), the people of the book (ehl-i kitap) and their behavioral characteristic on which the quran focused are examined. And you will find there some good behavioral principles also.

The third chapter investigates some good-laudable and bad-condemned behavior which cannot be assigned to a particular faith group. And there is some ideal behavior theories as well.

It concludes that human beings are evaluated by their own behavior. The Quran speaks of varied behavioral characteristic belonging to particular groups. However, according to Quran the best and worty behavior belongs to the believers.

The study aims at bringing a new and contemporary approach to the human types in the socio-psychological area in the light of the Holy Quran.

Note: If anyone that want or think about translating this book from Turkish to English and Arabic or any other languages that would be very nice for humanity as Holy Qur’anic message.