The story of the mind | Zakki Naguib Mahmud

This book contains ten chapters, through which Dr. Zaki Naguib Mahmoud narrates the history of (the mind) in his life, after he paved the way for this by writing about (the story of the self), in which he depicted his life, upbringing, and formative factors. It is a self-translation from the inner self, not from the appearance. Zaki Naguib Mahmoud felt that he should write the biography of (the mind) to complete the missing part of the picture, as he sensed the absence of intellectual life from (the story of the self). He wanted to complete this deficiency with this book. However, this project was delayed repeatedly because most of the author’s opinions and ideas were scattered across a large number of articles, and hence he had to gather all those scattered ideas and categorize them to accomplish his work in the best possible way. In the first chapter, he recounts the stages of the development of (the mind) in him from its emergence until near the end of its journey. In the second chapter, he discusses the transitional phase, his trip to London to join its university in the mid-1940s until he obtained his doctorate and returned to Egypt. The third chapter presents the journey of the mind, which narrates the story of its development, between the late 1940s and early 1950s, when he called in Egypt for adopting Western or modern culture, because for him, the West is the era, as it is the maker of our civilization. Then, in the fourth chapter, he moves on to talk about the scientific experience or what was called logical positivism, which he saw as having controls that could pave the way for Arab culture. In the fifth chapter, in defense of the mind, Zaki Naguib Mahmoud sees that the mental aspect is a common general aspect among people, while the emotional aspect is purely individual. In the sixth chapter, he presents his theory of criticism and his stance on literature and art, reflecting his position on scientific empiricism. The seventh chapter clarifies that his discussion of scientific thinking and its methodology does not mean denying the emotional side of human thought and life; only a madman would deny the emotional aspect. The eighth chapter deals with his stance on heritage, showing that we stand before the past with a pile of accumulated building materials, from which we progress and take what we like, then build anew, adding to the existing structure. The ninth chapter addresses issues of authenticity and modernity and his position on this matter. Finally, in the tenth chapter, he presents his book about Egypt, in which he depicted the most important aspects related to Egypt in its past and present.