Al-Attas' Psychology

Author: Muhammad Zainiy Uthman
Publisher: Himpunan Keilmuan Muslim (HAKIM)
ISBN: 9789671403181
Weight: 
Pages: 177
Year: 2022
Price: RM88

Syed Naquib al-Attas affirmed the dual aspect of man consisting of both physical and spiritual aspects of it. The definition "rational animal" described the essential part of what man is succinctly; that he is an animal that shares the same vegetative and motive powers, but he is also rational, that is he is able to perceive, retain and articulate symbolic forms in the form of speech.

In elaborating the non-physical aspect of man, al-Attas identified several synonymous terms that describe that subtile essence of man; all describes it albeit with different specific references. Those terms are as follows: the intellect, the spirit and the heart. All threee terms refers to an indivisible, identical and spiritual substance which is the reality or essence of man. It points to a unifying principle that is the locus of intelligibles. Through this spiritual subtlety of man that transcends mere vegetative and motive powers available in animals and plants, man able to apprehend reality by the actualization of intelligibles imprinted onto the soul