A Critique of Philosophical Thought in Pakistan

Their (Pakistani philosophers’) convictions are very often contaminated with modernism and a few are reacting vehemently against their traditional religion, but the belief in only one God, in the immortality of the human soul, in the absolute importance of this life for eternal salvation, in the brotherhood of all men, in the divine mission of the prophets, in the morals of the Quran, social as well as individual, determines the philosophical tenets of the majority of them,… (1)

A cursory survey of the philosophical works published in Pakistan shows that the field is dominated by metaphysical works regarding Islam or critiques and further rehashing of Iqbal’s philosophy. Although Iqbal was thoroughly well read in the western philosophy and he referred to selected western works and authors whenever it was convenient to him, his own philosophy was traditional Islamic metaphysics. He was in a position to demarcate new lines of philosophical thought but he adhered to the traditional metaphysics of his Islamic predecessors. He peppered it up by his philosophy of ‘khudi’ (self-hood) but the basic thought was invariably and deeply entrenched in the Islamic tradition. Veneration for authority is so deeply embedded in our psyche that we normally evade expressing a different view than the one, which has been accepted in the past. For this reason, although many feel that many of Iqbal’s views are outdated but few say so. They have worked his philosophy to extremely dull and boring limits.

One of the notable exceptions was Dr. C.A. Qadir who wrote a valuable critique of logical positivism on the suggestion of Professor John Wisdom. He (2) wrote in his article, “Logical positivism was unheard of in Pakistan till 1954. It is strange that Allama Muhammad Iqbal in his lectures on the ‘Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ mentions dialectical materialism and psychoanalysis and criticizes them because of their atheism, but does not mention logical positivism or atheistic existentialism, though they were equally vociferous in their denunciation of God and religion and in some respects much more than the former. Both logical positivism and existentialism had long been on the philosophic scene of the world. Logical positivism was born round about 1918 and existentialism, though born much earlier, expressed itself as a live force between the two World Wars. Many people feel that a new reconstruction of religious thought in Islam is needed so that the newer movements in the realm of thought might be accommodated and their influence on Islamic thought might be properly appreciated.” Although this critique is dated and refers to the status of philosophy in Pakistan in the 1950s, the situation at present doesn’t seem to be any different. If anything, it’s worse than before.

While it is quite appropriate to see how the modern and post-modern currents of philosophical developments affected Islamic thought and philosophy, the field however should not be narrowed down only to Islam. The philosophy of religion should include critical examination of the philosophy of other religions also. Philosophy, in its entirety, should be studied and worked upon for its own sake.

The topics of philosophical thought in Pakistan are predominantly restricted to those, which were developed in the medieval Islam and later worked upon by the descendents. The evolution of physical science and the scientific method, empiricism and verification for instance, are almost completely ignored with the result that the impact of the evolving scientific culture is not felt in our society. While there are numerous philosophers in the west who straddle(d) both fields, science and philosophy, the philosophers in Pakistan have by and large restricted themselves to ‘classical philosophy’ only and have shown no will to break away from it. For this reason, the philosophical thought in Pakistan has become stale, stagnant and uninteresting.

By virtue of our basic traditional education, skeptical thinking is discouraged in as much as it pertains to Islamic belief and creed. It is tolerated and in fact encouraged if it is aimed at other religions. We believe that only Islam is the true and hence the ultimate religion; all other religions are false. Some of the grounds on which we discard other religions, we refuse to examine our religion on those grounds. This ultimately led to introversion, which has pervaded our society. The worst non-filthy curse in our day-to-day vocabulary is the word ‘atheist’. In Urdu, we use ‘dahriya’ and ‘zindique’ for it. We condemn atheism without acquainting ourselves with its intrinsic arguments. I remember I came across a reference to a very enticing title, “Atheism: The Case Against God,“ by George H. Smith and I wanted to buy this book. I took several days to make up my mind and finally bought it. The book is interesting, informative and intellectually challenging. The tendency to condemn anything that sounds or appears contrary to our belief-system is inborn in us.

The books written in Pakistan on philosophy relate to Muslim philosophy only, which exclude any objective discussion of secular philosophy. Philosophical thinking in Pakistan, by and large, is boxed in Islamic container; there is hardly any meaningful discussion of the realities that are outside the box. Many a time a defensive stance is apparent in support of Islamic belief-system; there is thus no objective philosophical scrutiny of Islam. Our views are preformed about the universality of Islam; dissident views are considered prejudiced and discarded out of hand. Arguments are crafted to support Islamic viewpoint at all costs. All the broader topics are classified under the western philosophy and usually disdained. Their critiques usually lack objectivity. I wonder why the whole entire vast field of philosophy was left for the west; why didn’t the Muslim philosophers contribute to philosophy as a field of knowledge. Likewise, the Muslim intellectual endeavors were divorced from the field of material and physical sciences.

Conclusion

The Pakistani philosophers usually find grounds to disparage western philosophy and feel good. This is nothing but a self-serving attitude. Many a time, such attempts are dressed in scholarly garbs. Occasionally, a few admit and recognize the advances that the philosophical thought has made in the west. According to Richard V. Smet, “Dr. M. Hamid uddin faces the situation squarely when he asks the pertinent questions: Why even now this West-oriented approach to philosophy? Why has Eastern philosophy become for us a matter of history? The unsavory answer, he says, that having touched great heights of intellectual achievement, our forefathers left no scope for their successors. The materials of philosophy, the facts which constitute the challenge for philosophizing, were so thoroughly treated by them that nothing was left for anybody who came after them. In the West, on the contrary, with power technology renewing this material of facts, men started getting involved with life and the universe more deeply than they could with only the non-power technology of previous ages. This new power technology pushed them into doing first-rate thinking at breakneck speed. Thus philosophy in the East came to a dead end because it did not get the material of philosophy which could nourish it and keep it alive.” But why are they not making any progressive strides now when the material is available? Why are they tied inexorably to the past tradition?

References

1.Richard V. De Smet, S.J., “Philosophical Activity in Pakistan: 1947-1961, http://www.crvp.org/book/Series02/IIA-3/appendix.htm.
2.C.A . Qadir, “A Case for World Philosophy: My Intellectual Story,” http://www.crvp.org/book/Series02/IIA-3/chapter_iv.htm.