ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Importance of the Problems of World View Introduction Every activity engaged in by man, whether on the level of individual or social life, is undoubtedly a result of particular psychological drives and inclinations, and is fashioned with the aid of sense perception and bodily skills and powers under different temporal and spacial conditions.

For example, man is driven to eat and drink by his instinct to nourish himself, and is motivated to help the weak and the needy because of his emotions of sympathy for other human beings. Then, by using his sense organs, he identifies the desired foods or identifies the weak and needy to be assisted, and carries out the desired tasks through the use of his bodily faculties.

The above-mentioned activities could be said to possess the specific "human" characteristic when they are guided by his reason, in addition to his instinctive and emotional drives, which man shares with other animals. That is,. the eating of food and the drinking of water should be done with the aim of maintaining one's health and strength, and the emotions and instincts must be satisfied within the framework of some rational principles and under the guidance of reason.

In many cases, however, reason is overwhelmed by emotion and instinct, and is unable to perform an effective role. When this happens, the activity is considered devoid of any human value. The practical guidance provided by reason is itself controlled by the general notions and ideas which constitute the fundamental basis of man's existence as an intelligent being.

For example, the belief in the necessity of maintaining one's health, or the urge to make sacrifices for the sake of a higher aim, is based on particular conceptions of the individual and society. It is these general conceptions and basic patterns of thinking that play the major role in giving shape and direction to man's efforts and struggles, and either make them meaningful and worthwhile in the human sense or deprive them of human meaning and worth.

These basic patterns of thought are termed as `world-view'. It is on account of the differences in world view that fundamental divergence in personal behaviour and social outlook takes place. Just as the guidance provided by reason on practical matters is ignored in acts lacking in the `human' character, when it loses all its effective force, so also the theoretical decrees of reason are not always given the attention they require.