Contingent Truths

Episode 6: The Wounded Self: A Review of Psychologies


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In this episode we do a comparative analysis of mental health perspectives, contrasting the Western psychological paradigm with the traditional Islamic science of the soul, Ilm al-Nafs. The Western approach is depicted as secular, empirical, and symptom-focused, utilising diagnostic manuals like the DSM to classify conditions such as trauma, depression, and anxiety, and employing therapies like psychoanalysis, CBT, and psychopharmacology to alleviate distress. In stark contrast, the Islamic framework, rooted in divine revelation, presents a theocentric understanding of the human being, defining distress not as pathology but as a providential trial with spiritual purpose, and advocating for healing through spiritual purification (tazkiyah) via practices like prayer, remembrance, and patience. Ultimately, the text highlights the fundamental divergences in their ontological, axiological, and teleological assumptions about human nature, suffering, and the path to well-being.

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Contingent TruthsBy The Contingent