Civilizations: The Principles and the Presumptions

What Elevates a Civilization

1-Deep commitment to good values,

2-Commitment to good deeds,

3-People's tendency to great ideals,

4-Great efforts in times of great danger, and attempting to overcome problems,

5-People's commitment to keeping their promises,

6-Practicing charity,

7-Avoiding haughtiness,

8-People's good intentions,

9-Spiritual well-being of the members of the society,

10-Righteousness being the basis of everyday life affairs,

11-Being influenced by elevated motivations,

12-Resistance against cruelty,

13-Justice for all,

14-Patience and control of one's temper,

15-Avoiding corruption in the world,

16-Commitment to affection and kindness,

17-Making use of one's power to eliminate physical or spiritual disturbances,

18-Great effort in times of tests of faith or difficulties,

19-Agreement on ideals and tendencies,

20-Balance in desires,

21-Penetrating visions. 

The Basic Reasons Why Civilizations Fall

The basic reason for the demise of civilizations lies in this principle: "I exist, so you do not," or "Your existence depends on whether I want it or not." This is truly the essence of atrocity. As the Holy Koran says:

فکاين من قرية اهلکناها فهی ظالمه

"How many a city we have destroyed in its  evildoing."

          (The Pilgrimage, 22:45)

Cruelty can be regarded as "violating the true laws of intelligible life." Thus, the meaning of cruelty is unlimited and can include the following:

1-Even the slightest ignorance of one's conscience is cruelty to oneself.

2-Allowing the smallest violation of one's rights by others is cruelty to oneself.

3-Decreasing the value of human effort and its products is cruelty.

4-Creating circumstances in which man has to give up his work or occupation – whether willingly or otherwise – is cruelty.

5-Creating a dictatorship in which minds deteriorate is cruelty.

6-Disturbing the freedom of others is cruelty, even if the satisfaction of the violated one is provided by deviating from the meaning of freedom.

7-Creating artificial demand among people to sell imposed, worthless goods or ideas is cruelty.

8-Manipulating people's thoughts and emotions in order to impose one's ideas is cruelty.

9-Making the minds of the people a showcase for one's righteousness is a violation of their character, and cruelty.

10-Volunteering for the position of political leadership when one cannot control one's own desires or greed for pleasure and selfishness is cruelty to the society.

11-Destroying an advantage or benefit that can solve people's problems or sooth their pains is itself the worst kind of cruelty to mankind, let alone using the benefit as a weapon against man. 

The Unconditional Philosophical Principles of Civilizations

In identifying civilizations, we must keep in mind the principles all of them have in common. The five principles all civilizations have in common are:

Principle One: The Self Love of Life

Self love (egotism) is an undeniable principle of life. Self-protection, love for one's ego, natural selfishness, and attempts toward safeguarding life are some of its manifestations. There are two kinds of self loves: 

a)Positive, or intelligible, self love,

b)Negative self love.

Self love is seen in animals too, but in human beings its range of activity is unlimited. Animals have no culture or civilization. Man, on the other hand, has the intelligence and various talents to develop himself and create different cultures and civilizations.

Human self love is influenced by social factors, established ideals of the society and man's own physical and mental products. Developing man's awareness and selecting higher aims for life can control human self love and guide it to the right path. This is what we may call intelligible self love, which makes man consider the life of other people valuable and try to help them develop themselves. Those who do not possess intelligible self love are lured by their natural selfishness, and use all of their potentials to reinforce it. If natural selfishness is transformed into intelligible self love, however, a civilization will be created that would never deviate from the path of evolution and perfection, and would be infallible. Skyscrapers and advanced technology do not make an ideal civilization. Neither does high-speed transportation, sophisticated inventions or saturating selfish desires, which make us forget all about the philosophy of life. Such advances are valuable when they serve to activate man's talents and great human virtues. 

In brief, it is the moderation of self love that makes an ideal civilization, which moves on the road of intelligible life.