Civilizations: The Principles and the Presumptions

Conditional Philosophical Principles in Civilizations

When discussing the philosophical principles concerning civilizations, we must keep in mind the fact that the five above-mentioned unconditional principles cannot influence a civilization without limitations from both internal and external factors. Let us take a deeper look at this issue by studying the principles above by relating them to the conditional principles.

1-The unconditional principle of self love cannot exist without any limitations in any society or civilization. Internal and external factors on one hand and other people's selfishness on the other can make any individual in the society selfish. In a man-oriented civilization, efforts must be made in order to limit unconditional, general principles like selfishness inside logical limits, in favor of man. For example, education and management in the society should be in a way that people's selfishness can be moderated without the fatalistic influence of punishment or trapping people in the chains of a mechanically rigid life.

2-The unconditional principle of economy also should be accompanied by principles that uproot poverty in the society. In fact the absolute dominance of the economy – a general, unconditional principle – must be moderated in order to fulfill the financial needs of all members of the society; as a conditional principle that can guarantee the survival of a civilization.

3-Freedom is an extremely important phenomenon without which no man-oriented civilization can become true. Unlimited, un-moderated freedom will lead to the end of mankind, so freedom should turn into free will to supervise man's deeds. Freedom-seeking, therefore, is a general, unconditional principle that should be conditioned by righteousness and perfectionism.

4-The principle that claims stagnancy can bring about the fall of a civilization becomes true when its people and also social leaders lose their sense of perfectionism; despite internal and external pressures, civilizations do not fall unless their fundamentals fade away. If a civilization enjoys doubtless, internally dynamic bases – in other words, if it is man-oriented and its people actively preserve it – the civilization would never disappear. External factors cannot cause anything further than temporary stagnancy.

5-The fifth unconditional principle, the law of causality, can become unconditional by means of the knowledge and needs of the people making the civilization. Man's awareness, power and wishes concerning the problems of a civilization greatly influence its survival or fall. 

The Relationships between Civilizations

The question whether civilizations are related has always been a part of discussions about them. Do civilizations influence each other? There are three theories about it:

a)All civilizations are related and mutually influence each other.

b)No civilization can influence another, for civilizations are too far apart both in time and distance.

c)The relationships among civilizations can be neither totally defied nor proved. Studies on civilizations reveal some points in common between them, but none of them mean that one of them can be the origin of another. We must keep in mind that:

1-Commonalities observed among people in senses, thoughts, imagination and original wishes concerning life and its ideal quality can lead to commonalities between civilizations.

Apart from environmental conditions that can prepare the grounds for a civilization to come into being, the other important factors that can bring about the rise of a civilization are geniuses who possess positive thoughts and efforts and also the issue of vital needs that lead to increases in man's knowledge and his relationship with nature.

2-There should be a distinction between original civilizations and those that are imitational; such a distinction exists for cultures. Civilizations like Islam and the Byzantine are original, and have not been influenced by any other civilization. They arose from inside their societies themselves.

3-The physical effects of civilizations, like economic luxury and legal security, should be distinguished from man's spiritual development and glory, for if the latter is not regarded as the path to achieve an intelligible life – the main goal of a civilization – it would never be an original civilization, no matter how luxurious its people may be.

In a man-oriented civilization, man is sacrificed to the benefit of the tools and devices he himself has built. An obvious example is the Western civilization, made by man but alas heading for the destruction of mankind. The West has presented thirty Articles on the Human Rights, but it has presented nothing on how to be human and what an intelligible life includes.

Now that we have proved that physical effects of progress in human relationship with nature and the unfolding of various human aspects in a purely natural environment are different from man-oriented civilizations, we can conclude that even if human civilizations influence each other, this cannot be true in the case of man-oriented civilizations, for no civilization can command another to be man-oriented. Without thought, freedom and determination to achieve intelligible life, becoming man-oriented is impossible. Relationships among civilizations are similar to the relationship between two people – one at the peak of human development and perfection, the other the contrary. If the person spiritually developed intends to have a positive influence on the other one, mere relationship would not be enough; the deprived person should intelligently and freely determine to make progress.

The Holy Koran has also pointed this out in various ways, for example:

تلک امة قد خلت لها ما کسبت و لکم ما کسبتم

"That is a nation that has passed away; there awaits them what they have earned, and there awaits you what you have earned."

     (The Cow, 2:134)

In brief, civilizations can have mutual influence to physical extent, but cannot imitate each other from a man-oriented point of view. A man-oriented civilization can present its positive experiences, principles and laws, such as fair behavior toward each other, intelligible freedom, sound economy, dominant human virtues and morals, etc.