Renaissance Philosophy and its Impact on Cultural Evidence from the Perspective of
Islamic Thought
Suha Hadi Alloush, Salam Arsinan Ahmed, Sawsan Muhammad Mohi,
Omar Issa Imran
There is no doubt that the world today is suffering deeply under the burden of materialistic dominance over the minds, hearts, and bodies of human beings. Many people have assumed that civilizational progress, through scientific and intellectual advancements alone, is enough to provide well-being, comfort, and tranquility for humanity. However, they overlooked the fact that science and technological progress alone cannot address the complex issues of modern civilization that the West, in particular, is afflicted with mental and psychological disorders, the prevalence of crime, alcohol addiction, the rising rates of suicide and school shootings, the widespread use of drugs, moral decay, and unemployment, among others. Faced with these challenges, people have turned to various philosophical, psychological, and social theories in an attempt to overcome the problems of contemporary society. Yet, they have also failed to achieve all their targeted goals, and the problems have continued to grow and worsen. Neither the Freudian school, with all its theoretical concepts and complex therapeutic applications, nor the strict experimental ideas of the behavioral school have succeeded in overcoming the societal crises in the West. On the contrary, these crises have intensified and crushed people even more. It can be said that the morals and behaviors of Western society have been in rapid decline and degradation. The outputs of the diverse cultures in the West have only contributed to increasing spiritual anxiety and psychological fragmentation, with a clear inability to create a dominant cultural alternative that could contribute to shaping an idea leading humanity towards a safe and secure civilization. Instead, the situation has reached the point of crushing Western human existence and attempting to destroy its symbolism as much as possible. Therefore, this research aims to assert that true renaissance can only be achieved through a civilization based on four main pillars: (Faith + Religious Knowledge + Empirical Sciences + Human and Cultural Knowledge). Without these four foundations, there is no way to achieve contemporary revival and build human civilization. Hence, this research attempts to invoke the civilizational outcomes in Islam to provide a comprehensive picture of what we aim to convey to the audience regarding the necessity of integrative knowledge in achieving renaissance and its impact on civilizational presence. We claim here that Islam is an alternative to the ideas, visions and trends that prevailed in the West and failed in preserving its dignity and humanity.
Keywords: Renaissance, Philosophy, Cultural, Perspective, Islamic Thought
