Contemporary Arab thought issues

Download the book "Problems of Contemporary Arab Thought" pdf author Mohamed Abed Al-Jabri Problems of Contemporary Arab Thought are a set of theoretical issues discussed by Arab intellectuals at present, concerning the current situation of Arabs in relation to the Arab past and the "European" present that imposes itself today as the "present" for the entire world. The Arab past refers to its presence in the contemporary Arab reality, intellectually, politically, socially, and economically. This means that it involves a state of "split" characterizing the current Arab reality, intellectually, politically, socially, and economically, which makes it a reality contested by, collided with, and wrestled over by two types of influences: one inherited from our past, belonging entirely to the civilization of the "Middle Ages" with its Bedouin religious techniques and its ideal eschatological values, and another imported from the present of others, belonging to the "modern era" civilization with its advanced mechanized technology and material worldly values. What makes this "split" problematic is that it reflects not only a conflict between the old and the new but also a conflict between "self" and "the other." The old here belongs to "self," while the new belongs to "the other." The studies and research included in this book were conducted on different occasions and over varying periods, addressing this problematic aspect of contemporary Arab thought: the aspect that reflects the tension and anxiety generated and fueled in the current Arab world by a sense of a tragic disjunctive situation, where "self" belongs to the past, which it seeks to overcome, while the present no longer belongs to it. This causes a sense of emptiness regarding identity, leading to feelings of anxiety and tension. The issues of authenticity and modernity, the crisis of creativity, the problematic of unity and progress, the question of renaissance in the future cultural project, the relationship between Arabs and the West in the age of technology, spirituality and the present era, and the tasks of Arab thought in the world of tomorrow — these are the main topics of this book. In fact, they are only manifestations and expressions of the intertwined, multi-layered Arab reality, the current Arab reality passing through a slow, intertwined transitional phase where time, place, old, and new are entangled, confusing vision, fueling the fire of tension and anxiety, and thus giving the issues of reality a problematic, crisis-ridden character.