The story of the mind

Author's name: Zaki Naguib Mahmoud Publisher: Al-Shorouk Publishing and Distribution Year of publication: 2020 Literary classification: Biographies and Memoirs Book overview: This book contains ten chapters, through which Dr. Zaki Naguib Mahmoud narrates the biography 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 subconscious autobiographical translation, not from appearances. Zaki Naguib Mahmoud felt the need to write the biography of (the mind) to complete the picture, as he sensed the absence of mental life in (the story of the self). He wanted to fill this gap with this book, but the project was delayed repeatedly because most of the author's opinions and ideas were scattered across a large number of articles. Therefore, he had to gather all those scattered ideas and categorize them to complete his work in the best way. In the first chapter, he narrates the stages of the development of (the mind) in him from its emergence until near the end of his journey. In the second chapter, he discusses the transitional phase, his travel 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 recounts its development, between the late 1940s and early 1950s, when he called in Egypt for adopting Western or modern culture because the West, to him, is the era, as it is the creator of our civilization. Then, in the fourth chapter, he discusses the scientific experience or what was called logical positivism, which he saw as guidelines suitable for guiding Arab culture. In defense of the mind, which is the topic of the fifth chapter, Zaki Naguib Mahmoud believes that the mental aspect is a common universal 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 experimentation. In the seventh chapter, he 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, stating that we stand before the past with a piled-up heap of building materials, advancing and taking what we like from it, then building anew with what increases. In the ninth chapter, he addresses issues of authenticity and modernity and his position on that. In the tenth chapter, he discusses his book about Egypt, in which he depicted the most important aspects related to Egypt in its past and present.