Session Twelve, The First Stage: Examining the Existence or Non-Existence of Inherent Dignity in the Human Being
Session Twelve
The First Stage: Examining the Existence or Non-Existence of Inherent Dignity in the Human Being — The Foundations of Inherent Human Dignity — The First Category: 1. Intellect — An Objection Concerning the Inherency of Dignity and Its Examination — 2. Will (Irādah) and Choice (Ikhtiyār) — Evidence — The First Piece of Evidence
October 27, 2024
An Objection Concerning the Inherency of Dignity
We mentioned the evidence for the inherency of the dignity granted by God to the human being. A question raised in the previous session—and to which we had also referred previously—was that if the intellect is proposed as an inherent dignity for the human being, why then has God the Almighty so severely admonished the human being, and in some instances deemed him baser than animals: “they are like cattle; nay, they are further astray” (أُولَئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ)? From among the very pieces of evidence we cited, in the continuation of verse 70 of Surah al-Isra He states: “The Day We shall call all people with their leader” (يَوْمَ نَدْعُو كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِمْ), and thereafter He admonishes the human being in a certain manner on account of his ungratefulness. Or, in the continuation of the verse “Verily, We created the human being in the finest state,” He states: “then We reduced him to the lowest of the low” (ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَاهُ أَسْفَلَ سَافِلِينَ).
In general, wherever the issue of the human being’s creation, God’s favor and ennoblement, and the blessings—including the specific divine blessings—granted to the human being is presented, there is a kind of admonition and warning. This indicates that this dignity does not always accompany the human being; this dignity is not inherent, but is rather preserved only in a specific form and state, and otherwise, the human being does not attain nobility through this element alone.
Examination of the Objection
We answered this objection in some manner previously, and we shall present a summary of it now. I shall begin with a statement by the late ʿAllāmah under verse 70 of Surah al-Isra: “The verse is directed toward the bestowment of favor, mixed with admonition” (الْآيَةُ مَسُوقَةٌ لِلِامْتِنَانِ مَشُوباً بِالْعِتَابِ). This verse carries or encompasses two matters: divine bestowment of favor (imtinān) and divine admonition (ʿitāb). On the one hand, God, Blessed and Exalted is He, is conferring favor upon the human being. Conferring favor requires that this pertain to all human beings, just as the contextual clues within this very verse fully testify that this dignity pertains to all human beings. God is conferring favor in that His mercy encompasses all human beings; on the other hand, there is also admonition. Admonition is, in reality, a warning, censure, and blame of the human being for forgetting these blessings, for abandoning the path of servitude to God and turning away from Him, and therefore it is a place for admonition. God states: “I granted you all these blessings, why then did you act thus? Instead of gratitude and thanks, you show ungratefulness.”
This tone and context exist in almost all cases where God recalls a blessing. Wherever the blessings of God to the Children of Israel are mentioned, they are followed by their ungratefulness, and then God’s censure and admonition of the Children of Israel. The case is the same with the human being: wherever the creation of the human being and God’s blessings to him—both specific and general—are mentioned, it is followed by the reminder of why there is ungratefulness and lack of thanks, and then the threat of painful chastisement for those who have entirely pursued the path of servitude to other than God.
Our contention is that this very admonition, warning, and censure for ungratefulness is proof that this blessing is a blessing for all of humanity and encompasses all human beings, independent of belief, sect, faith, or disbelief. This admonition is, in reality, to return humanity to the regular and natural path of worldly life. These admonitions have a single goal: the goal is to return the human being to the path of salvation. If this blessing were to be divested from the human being due to ungratefulness, disobedience, and rebellion, how then would he return to the path and pursue that way? Indeed, the divine calls that continue until the final moment of life are precisely because the human being possesses this advantage, and the goal is to free the intellect from blemishes, illusions, and whims of the soul.
You observe that Moses, by God’s command, goes to Pharaoh and speaks to him with a gentle word, inviting him to serve God and to depart from the path of disobedience, rebellion, and claiming divinity. This is only because that advantage remains with the human being until his final moment. The effort of the prophets, the friends of God, and the effort of God—even through these admonitions expressed in this class of verses—is to remove those blemishes, veils, and barriers from around the intellect so that the intellect can distinguish its true good and true evil, and recognize its real benefit from its real harm and corruption. Therefore, none of these admonitions, censures, and blames mean the divestment of the rational faculty or the divestment of the power to distinguish good from evil or benefit from harm. This advantage remains for the human being and is indestructible.
Indeed, this point has also been referred to in some traditions. For instance, in a tradition from Imam al-Riḍā (peace be upon him) recorded in Tuḥaf al-ʿUqūl, he states: If God wills to perform an action and His will is attached to the actualization of something, He divests human beings of their intellects, and once His command is executed, He returns their intellects to them, and they say, “We do not understand what happened or where it came from.” This is, in reality, a metaphorical expression to say that at certain times, by divine will, the human intellect is rendered ineffective and idle, and therefore cannot distinguish. “When Allah wills a matter, He divests the servants of their intellects and executes His command and fulfills His will. Then, once He has executed His command, He returns to every possessor of intellect his intellect, and he says: ‘How was this, and from where did this come?'” (إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ أَمْراً سَلَبَ الْعِبَادَ عُقُولَهُمْ فَأَنْفَذَ أَمْرَهُ وَتَمَّتْ إِرَادَتُهُ فَإِذَا أَنْفَذَ أَمْرَهُ رَدَّ إِلَى كُلِّ ذِي عَقْلٍ عَقْلَهُ فَيَقُولُ كَيْفَ ذَا وَمِنْ أَيْنَ ذَا).
This does not mean that this blessing and dignity is not inherent; rather, it is in fact the closing of the paths of contemplation, reasoning, and calculation executed by divine will, which also pertains to specific circumstances. We must keep in mind (the very point we mentioned at the outset of the discussion) that ultimately what is under discussion here is the intellect in the sense of the rational faculty, the faculty of understanding, comprehension, and memory, rather than that intellect by which the human being soars. Both the origin of this blessing must be present, and one must be careful not to fall prey to those blemishes.
In another tradition, Imam al-Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) states: “The support of the human being is the intellect, and from the intellect is sagacity, understanding, memory, and knowledge. By the intellect he is perfected, and it is his guide, his vision, and the key to his affair. Thus, if the support of his intellect is from light, he is knowledgeable, mindful, remembering, sagacious, and understanding; and thereby he knows how, why, and where, and recognizes who advises him sincerely and who deceives him. Then, when he recognizes that, he knows his course, his connections, and his disconnections” (دِعَامَةُ الْإِنْسَانِ الْعَقْلُ وَالْعَقْلُ مِنْهُ الْفِطْنَةُ وَالْفَهْمُ وَالْحِفْظُ وَالْعِلْمُ وَبِالْعَقْلِ يَكْمُلُ وَهُوَ دَلِيلُهُ وَمُبْصِرُهُ وَمِفْتَاحُ أَمْرِهِ فَإِذَا كَانَ تَأْيِيدُ عَقْلِهِ مِنَ النُّورِ كَانَ عَالِماً حَافِظاً ذَاكِراً فَطِناً فَهِماً فَعَلِمَ بِذَلِكَ كَيْفَ وَلِمَ وَحَيْثُ وَعَرَفَ مَنْ نَصَحَهُ وَمَنْ غَشَّهُ فَإِذَا عَرَفَ ذَلِكَ عَرَفَ مَجْرَاهُ وَمَوْصُولَهُ وَمَفْصُولَهُ).
It is recorded in the noble al-Kāfī that the pillar of the human being is his intellect; sagacity, understanding, memory, and knowledge are all through the human intellect; yet this very intellect brings about perfection. It is the guide, counselor, vision, and key to affairs. If it is supported by light—meaning blemishes and illusions are absent from it—the intellect attains its true effectiveness and becomes, in the true sense of the word, hearing and seeing. It is then that he understands why he came, how he came, for what purpose he came, and where he is going; meaning he pays attention to the true issues of existence.
The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) states in Nahj al-Balāghah: “Most of the battlegrounds of intellects are beneath the flashes of greed” (أَكْثَرُ مَصَارِعِ الْعُقُولِ تَحْتَ بُرُوقِ الْمَطَامِعِ). This is a beautiful tradition. Most of the battlegrounds of intellects are actualized in the light of greed. It is clear that the intellect possesses a reality and existence; it has a battleground, in the sense of being rendered ineffective, which is greed, desire, blemishes, and illusions.
Based on the points we have presented, it becomes clear that this involves both bestowment of favor and admonition; God has both conferred favor upon the human being by granting him this blessing, and He admonishes him, and the purpose is that this intellect should not fall prey to darkness, illusions, greed, desire, and whims. All of these admonitions are meant to remove these matters from around the intellect. That Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) stands before that vast crowd on the morning of Ashura and cries out “Is there any helper?” is not because he genuinely seeks to bring someone to his aid; rather, it is to perform his primary duty, which is to save human beings from the mire of corruption and the swamp of ignorance—meaning to distance their intellects from these illusions and blemishes. This very invitation, speech, and reminder, even to Umar ibn Sa’d on the day of Ashura, is to awaken the intellect (I shall discuss the fiṭrah separately). An intellect through which he can correctly distinguish—the faculty of distinguishing good from evil, for they mostly err in the instances of good and evil; he thinks his good lies in the governorship of Rey, even if this thought has dominated him due to the mastery of whims and desires.
2. Will (Irādah) and Choice (Ikhtiyār)
We proceed to the second foundation for human dignity, namely: will (irādah) and choice (ikhtiyār). Of course, will and choice are branches of the intellect; meaning that because the human being is rational, he possesses will and choice. To be sure, we could reduce these three to a single foundation; however, because their proofs are relatively different and we can mention separate evidence for them, we have presented this independently.
In a precise view, will and choice are also different from one another. Our mentioning these two together does not mean they are one and the same; they are themselves two distinct realities. Will is, in reality, that very intense desire (al-shawq al-mu’akkad) that arises in the human being after the conception (taṣawwur) and assent (taṣdīq) of utility, and this ultimately leads to the stimulation of muscles to perform an action. Thus, will is that very intense desire. Choice, on the other hand, in reality means selecting, choosing, and preferring; because deeming one thing superior to another, or preferring it, is something other than will. This is because there may be will, yet no preference or deeming superior. Therefore, from one aspect, these two differ from each other.
Question:
Professor: These two are also interconnected, and for this reason, we mentioned them together. Technically, these two words have different definitions.
First, it is necessary to clarify will and choice, and how they constitute an inherent dignity for the human being. God, Blessed and Exalted is He, created the human being possessing will and choice, and granted him the right to choose, and this is a specific and unique blessing for the human being; it is a nobility for the human being and does not exist for other creatures. This is what we wish to prove.
The human being, in comparison to animals and plants, possesses a unique ability to resist his internal desires and to give a negative response to his inner inclinations—meaning, not to execute the command of the carnal soul (nafs). It is here that will in the true sense is formed; will is under the command of the intellect. That is, when the intellect reaches a conclusion and assents to something, the will to perform it is actualized. Our saying that this is exclusive to the human being points to two realities within the human being’s existence:
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That the human being has inclinations and attractions within him that are not present in other creatures—inclinations that go beyond the realm of material things. The animal ultimately has certain inclinations, but they are within the scope of material things; the human being inclines toward matters far beyond these.
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He can pursue the actualization of these inclinations, or he can resist them; he can halt his heart’s desires. This is mentioned as a major and exclusive capability for the human being.
In contrast, plants and animals also possess certain faculties and capabilities, but these capabilities do not stem from will. I want it to be clearly understood what this difference and advantage is. The animal walks, and the human being also walks, but walking for the animal is also performed with awareness; meaning, for example, when the animal rises from a place and wishes to drink water, it does so with awareness and intends it, and is not forced to do so. However, this desire of its operates as instinct. In other words, the animal also, in a way, drinks water if it wants, and does not drink if it does not want. When it is faced with two preys, it ultimately has a desire there and pursues it; this desire is also performed with its awareness, but it possesses nothing called will. This is because as soon as its inner desire for something is stimulated, it moves toward it, but this desire stems from instinct. If, for example, the animal becomes hungry and feels an inclination to eat, it can never resist its inclination; it cannot fail to execute the command of instinct. This is the important difference between the human being and the animal; this is precisely the point called will. Will is a capability to resist inclinations and desires or to actualize inclinations and desires.
Question:
Professor: That, too, is instinct; meaning, for example, the instinct of some animals is loyalty, while the instinct of some animals is disloyalty. One is the effect of instinct and is inherent to them; the nature of a wolf differs from the nature of a dog. It is said that a wolf does not show mercy even to its own kind; if it becomes hungry, it eats its own kind, whereas a dog is not so. Of course, education and training also have some effect; meaning this trainability exists especially in certain animals, and its root lies in habit-formation for the animal. It conditions certain benefits upon the performance of certain actions. At any rate, this will, right of choice, and free will are an advantage for the human being. No creature possesses this; that this is exclusive to the human being, there is no doubt.
This requires no further explanation and is clear, and there appears to be no reason to explain further. I only want you to pay attention to the reason why this is an exclusive blessing for the human being and is considered an ennoblement of him and an inherent granted dignity; this is what we are concerned with now. Thus, you have observed the exclusivity of this blessing; this cannot be denied.
Question:
Professor: This choice and will, in the sense of being able to resist one’s own desires… is not so; this power and capability of resistance does not exist with this intensity and force in non-humans. Here, the discussion is not about ennoblement (takrīm) and preference (tafḍīl)… we are discussing this here regardless of ennoblement and preference, and we are not concerned at all with whether it is shared or not; rather, we say it is exclusive to the human being. That is, what the human being possesses, none of them possess. Even assuming that in its origin, the jinn share it with the human being, there is fundamentally an immense difference between the will, choice, and freedom that the human being possesses and those of the jinn.
Evidence
We regard this as an exclusive blessing; however, the main proof and evidence that this constitutes a nobility is what we wish to know. This is because some argue that God’s granting this to the human being is merely a faculty, second, it does not constitute a nobility, and third, it is conditional and contingent upon a state and conditions—it is conditional upon faith.
The First Piece of Evidence
Our contention is that this blessing is exclusive and clearly indicates actualization. When we say actualization, we do not mean that a one-day-old infant possesses will and choice. Once he reaches a stage where he can distinguish and perceive, the human being’s will and choice are ultimately actualized and go beyond the limit of instinct. It is true that the younger the human being is—such as an infant—the less his power to resist his inner desires; the older he grows, the more he increases this power. Of course, this depends on the human being conditioning his soul (nafs) to follow it or oppose it. For example, when a person follows the command of the carnal soul for thirty or forty years, he is trained in this manner, and changing it is difficult. Hence, they say, “Breaking a habit causes illness,” because once these habits are formed, changing them is very difficult… because he has accustomed himself to following it. Thus, first, we say it is actualized and remains with the human being until the end, even for the disbeliever. This is an advantage and a nobility.