اخبار السعودية – وطن نيوز
عاجل اخبار السعودية – اخبار اليوم السعودية
W6nnews.com ==== وطن === تاريخ النشر – 2026-07-24 00:16:00
Perhaps I should first confirm that philosophical thinking is one of the components and even one of the engines of critical awareness in our minds, as critical awareness can only be philosophical.. Why? Because the value of philosophizing stems from asking questions, and standing in amazement at events, the facts of life, things, and variables. And for the one who has the faculty of philosophizing, things cannot pass by him unnoticed, meaning he must stop at them for a long time with critical examination and mental contemplation. His skull is filled with many questions and very few answers! As Aristotle said: Amazement is what drives us to philosophize… because mental amazement means alertness of the mind, openness of the mind, and its tendency to question. Is philosophical astonishment, which is the first test of philosophizing, limited to squinting the eyes, furrowing the forehead, frowning on the face, and then standing passively in the face of existing objects, visuals, and the facts of daily life? No, this is not what is meant, of course. Amazement here is a human trait and every person is a philosopher. Here it means the longing for knowledge, like Socrates’ first amazement when he was walking in the streets and talking to people, asking them, arguing with them, and inciting them. He knew that others were more knowledgeable than him, perhaps, but they were not more daring and courageous. Whenever he acquired new knowledge, springs of longing and challenge exploded in his eyes, and he became more convinced that he did not know yet. So he set his legs on the streets of Athens in a new search for Knowledge… about truth… and virtue, and his heart almost exploded with joy and ecstasy… Here lies the secret of philosophy then… it is the tireless search for knowledge, the secret of existence and its conscience. One of the signs of not philosophizing is a lack of amazement. The unastonished person is the dull one who delusionally believes that he is all-knowing, that is, the person who possesses absolute truth and static certainties. The prevailing opinion is that philosophizing is delving into abstract perceptions and absolute concepts suspended in the sky, or it is an investigation into essences, essences, and intangible facts. This opinion is inaccurate. Rather, I say that in the last century, all of these perceptions and concepts were brought down to the ground… to the bottom of reality and tested in the context of daily life. Many philosophical concepts and rational contemplations were transformed into tools for understanding reality, analyzing it, and probing its structures, such as the concept of doubt according to Descartes, the concept of criticism according to Kant, and change according to Marx. They were concepts The philosophy produced by these philosophers and others, in its relentless pursuit to change reality, was investigating reality and meta-reality, and in nature and beyond nature, laying the first building blocks for formation, becoming, and change. The mind that proceeds in the light of philosophical thinking is an enlightened mind that cannot accept things as they are, just as it cannot accept the logic of intellectual guardianship. Immanuel Kant says: The enlightened person is the person who emerges from the state of intellectual insufficiency to the person who is able to think in isolation from others… Here philosophical thinking is not limited only to emerging from the state of mental insufficiency regarding existence, life, and the universe, but rather extends beyond it to interpreting this existence and every new existence and giving it a moral meaning… that is, searching for his human conscience, interpreting the meaning of man, and analyzing its possibilities. Thus, it transcends – that is, philosophical thinking – the necessity of interpretation and analysis to the necessity of transformation and change. Why does philosophical thinking become necessary to form critical awareness? Because philosophical thinking swims in spaces of freedom and emerges from the yoke of the familiar and prevailing… and breaks the shackles of entrenched traditions… and this mental departure and release in itself is a liberation from the dogma of the static intellectual moment… and it is, at the same time, a rebellion against the staticity of the cultural moment… against the completeness of truth… and the certainty and inevitability of history. Because philosophical thinking is necessarily creative thinking… and it strives to look at existence and variables with multiple visions… and turns them around in all aspects and possibilities… that is, it takes every event and every variable in its relativity, not its absoluteness. It is also necessarily causal, not willful, thinking, meaning that it investigates the radicality of things and their first emanations… Therefore, it is the first cradle of scientific research, and this is one of the foundations of the critical mind. Because philosophical thinking is analytical thinking… it examines, then analyzes… then deduces, it is without a doubt rational thinking, and rationality and institutionalization are one of the characteristics of critical thinking. As a result, he is open to the entire human cognitive and mental accumulation and bases his conclusions and perceptions on it. Therefore, he is necessarily pluralistic… he accepts the other… and disagrees with him, but he dialogues with him in a high-level dialectic. How does philosophizing become possible? How does philosophy become an educational and intellectual need again, effective and influential in our daily lives? There are those who say that the necessity of philosophy has disappeared in the era of the information revolution that we are currently living in… that is, in the era of the victory of science, and therefore philosophy in its ancient movement and in the scene of its major theses has ceased… and has reached its historical ends, and science has no need for new philosophical introductions, and life does not need new philosophizing and does not afford the luxury of rational contemplation on axioms, existents and variables. Science and scientific production have replaced philosophy and eliminated that middle zone between religion and science! Does this bleak view of philosophy stand up to the urgent need for philosophizing in our contemporary world? This talk may raise a lot of dust in our Arab intellectual field, and it seems as if it refutes the statement that we now need the value of philosophizing and philosophical creativity… But the question that arises here: Are we – currently – in a state of clear intellectual deficiency?… Are we still being exercised with double intellectual guardianship?… In my estimation, getting out of the state of historical intellectual deficiency in civilization, undoubtedly begins from its cultural… intellectual field, by resuming the philosophical statement again and by restoring the engines of philosophical creativity once again. It has subsided and calcified since philosophy and work in it were put under suspicion and in the circle of heresy… and this can only be done by restoring the entire Arab philosophical/renaissance heritage in its enlightened rational stations, and the necessity of killing it by research, examination and digestion, then moving beyond it to the renewed intellectual horizon that is open to the future. Let me begin by affirming that philosophical thinking is one of the components, indeed one of the driving forces, of critical consciousness in our minds, as critical consciousness can only be philosophical. Why? Because the value of philosophy stems from posing questions, standing in wonder before events, the truths of life, things, and changes. Those who possess the faculty of philosophy cannot let matters pass by without reflection; They must linger over them with critical examination and mental contemplation. Their minds are filled with numerous questions and very few answers! As Aristotle said: wonder is what drives us to philosophize… because intellectual wonder signifies the awakening of the mind, the opening of the intellect, and its inclination to question. Is it a philosophical wonder, which is the first criterion for philosophizing, limited to staring with wide eyes, frowning, and grimacing, and then passively standing before existents, visible things, and daily life events? No, that is not the intended meaning, of course. Wonder here is a human trait, and every person is a philosopher; it signifies a yearning for knowledge, much like Socrates’ initial wonder as he walked through the streets, talking to people, asking them questions, debating with them, provoking them, and knowing that others might be more knowledgeable than he, but they are not more daring and courageous. Every time he gained new knowledge, springs of yearning and challenge erupted in his eyes, increasing his conviction that he had not yet known enough. He would then set off down the streets of Athens in search of new knowledge… of truth… and virtue, with his heart nearly bursting with joy and ecstasy. Here lies the secret of philosophy, then… it is the unceasing quest for knowledge, the secret of existence, and its conscience. One of the signs of a lack of philosophical thinking is the absence of wonder. A person who is not astonished is the dullard who mistakenly believes he is fully knowledgeable, that is, the person who possesses absolute truth and static certainties. The prevailing opinion is that philosophizing involves delving into abstract concepts and absolute ideas suspended in the sky, or it is a search for essences, substances, and intangible truths. This opinion is inaccurate; Rather, I would say that all these concepts and ideas were brought down to earth in the last century… to the depths of reality, tested in the context of daily life, and many philosophical concepts and mental reflections transformed into tools for understanding and analyzing reality and exploring its structures, such as Descartes’ concept of doubt, Kant’s concept of criticism, and Marx’s concept of change. The philosophical concepts produced by these philosophers and others, in their relentless pursuit to change reality, were searching within reality and meta-reality, in nature and beyond nature, laying the first foundations for formation, becoming, and change. The mind that operates in the light of philosophical thinking is a luminous mind that cannot accept things as they are, nor can it accept the logic of intellectual guardianship. Immanuel Kant says: The enlightened person is the one who emerges from a state of intellectual immaturity to become capable of thinking independently of others. Here, philosophical thinking is not only defined by the exit from a state of mental immaturity regarding existence, life, and the universe, but it transcends this to interpret this existence and every new existence, giving it a moral meaning… that is, searching for its human conscience, interpreting the meaning of humanity, and analyzing its potentials and capabilities, thus transcending—philosophical thinking—the necessity of interpretation and analysis to the necessity of transformation and change also.Why does philosophical thinking become essential for forming critical consciousness? Because philosophical thinking swims in the spaces of freedom, breaking free from the confines of the familiar and the prevailing… shattering the chains of entrenched traditions. This exit and mental launch, in itself, is a liberation from the dogma of the static intellectual moment… it is simultaneously a rebellion against the stasis of the civilizational moment… against the completeness of truth… and the certainties and determinism of history. And because philosophical thinking is necessarily creative thinking… it strives to view existence and changes from multiple perspectives… turning them over from all angles and possibilities… that is, it takes every event and every change in its relativity, not its absoluteness. It is necessarily also a causal, not a wishful, thinking; Meaning it searches for the roots of things and their initial beliefs… thus it is the primary ground for scientific research, and this is one of the foundations of critical reason. And because philosophical thinking is analytical… it observes, then analyzes… then infers, it is undoubtedly rational thinking, and rationality and institutionalization are among the characteristics of critical thinking. Ultimately, it opens up to the entire accumulation of human knowledge and intellect and bases its conclusions and perceptions on it; Therefore, it is necessarily pluralistic… it accepts the other… and differs with it, but engages in a high-level dialogue. How does philosophizing become possible?… How does philosophy become an educational and intellectual necessity once again… effective and influential in our daily lives? Some say that the necessity of philosophy has ceased in the age of the information revolution we currently live in… that is, in the age of the triumph of science, and thus philosophy, in its old movements and in the scene of its grand proposals, has become obsolete… reaching its historical ends, and science no longer needs new philosophical premises, nor does life require new philosophizing, nor can it afford the luxury of mental contemplation on the obvious, the existent, and the changes, as science and scientific production have replaced philosophy and abolished that middle ground between religion and science!… Does this bleak view of philosophy withstand the urgent need for philosophizing in our contemporary world? This statement may stir up a dense dust in our Arab intellectual field, and it seems to refute the notion of our current need for the value of philosophizing and philosophical creativity… but the question that arises here is: Are we not currently in a state of evident intellectual immaturity?… Is there still a dual intellectual guardianship being exercised over us?… In my opinion, the exit from the historical intellectual immaturity, civilizationally, undoubtedly begins from its cultural… intellectual field, by resuming a new philosophical discourse and by reviving the engines of philosophical creativity that have smoldered and stagnated since philosophy and engagement in it were placed under suspicion and in the circle of heresy… and this can only be achieved by reclaiming the entire Arab philosophical/renaissance heritage in its rational, enlightening stations, and the necessity of thoroughly researching, examining, and digesting it, and then transcending it to the renewed and open intellectual horizon towards the future.
