نشریه معرفت فرهنگی اجتماعی
سال سوم شماره 4 (پیاپی 12، پاییز 1391)

The semantics of the term "spirituality" begins with reviewing the terms spirit, spiritual and spirituality. In its most literal applications, the term spirit means soul and psyche which has an opposite meaning to body. When it is used as an adjective for another entity, this entity takes the meaning of a spiritual and pure entity. The term "spirit" in its technical meaning, whether philosophical or sociological or even in other sciences, has different meanings. In philosophy, it refers to immaterial substance and intellective soul and in sociology to those who graduated in seminary sciences. The semantics of this term continues by reviewing its application in the history of literature of Iran and Persian books. In answering the question when and why the term "spiritual" has been applied to those who graduated in seminary sciences in the history of literature of Iran, the present paper provides three analyses: 1- similarities made by Orientalists; 2- Shiite scholar's capacity for applying the term to them; 3- religious scholar's transition from intellectual life to social life.

The present paper seeks to recognize the cultural condition of Hejaz region before Holy Prophet's mission with regard to its constituent sources. As its method, is refers to historian's works and recognize sources influencing the culture before Holy prophet's mission. Then, it offers a conceptual or applied analysis of these sources with regard to existing historical documents in order to find the modus operand of these sources. The research findings are some important and influential sources in forming the culture before Holy Prophet's mission. This paper sheds light on two sources, i.e. tribe and religion which played role in forming the culture of Hejaz region.

Military defeat of Iran by Russia and Britain and gradual familiarity with colonialism and developed West during two recent centuries made a deep gap in Iran's history of thinking which led to the confrontation between tradition and modernity. This confrontation which still continues after many years of conflict had a determining role in the political and cultural scene of Iran during Constitutional revolution period, and pulled many thinkers towards different directions with its rhythm. In the meantime, Malek Al-Shoara' Bahar and some other scholars like him who inclined towards modernity and westernization during first confrontations between tradition and modernity carried Islamic-Iranian tradition haltingly, due to his connection to literature. So, the present paper seeks to study Bahar's views on West and native tradition (modernism and modernity) with regard to the intellectual and social context of that time in order to shed light on the intellectual trends influencing contemporary developments in Iran's society.

Gadamer's hermeneutics continues Heidegger's hermeneutics and seeks to recognize the nature of understanding and its existential structure. However, contrary to Heidegger, Gadamer deals with such issues as understanding artistic works and texts, interpretation of historical affairs and methodology of human sciences without seeking to provide a new methodology for these sciences. It can be said that Gadamar's philosophical hermeneutics which is related to anthropology is among the main philosophical issues. The present paper discusses his views about man and understanding, man and history, and man and language. Then criticizes these views based on Islamic view. Although two last titles (man and history, and man and language) are subtitles of the first one (man and understanding), they are divided in order to make possible the analysis and criticism of his views about history, culture and language.

The present paper seeks to investigate the most influential social factors of crime in Ibn Khaldun's view through looking at the most important theories of criminology. On the one hand, Ibn Khaldun believes in man's will and admits the effect of environmental and social factors on man's acts by accepting his sociability, on the other hand. Therefore, he pays attention to different factors like luxury- orientation and interest conflict, ruler's oppression, weakness of social cohesion, and civil and foreign wars and considers these factors as the cause of many crimes including economic corruptions, murder, sexual offences, and social riots. Inb Khaldun's approach to analyzing the social factors of crime is more close to integrative and combinative theories. However, he considers luxury-orientation and conflict among city dwellers as the cause of many crimes, and, among all social factors, pays special attention to state and its political-economic corruptions.

Through analyzing and elaborating on the scale of mysteriousness of death concept in Tehran City, the present paper tries to study its relevant social parameters. To this end, the author has chosen Norbert Elias's theory of civilizing as the theoretical basis of this research after a brief review of existing theories. Then the scale of strangeness of death concept in Tehran City and its different social parameters are analyzed and expounded regarding theoretical analysis and using existing reports and figures. Accordingly, it seems that a considerable scale of mysteriousness and strangeness of death concept in Tehran City is observable, although it is much less common and spread in comparison with western societies. In this regard, this paper puts forward some suggestions to decrease this mysteriousness, including emphasis on reinforcing religious and communal meanings, reinforcing communal funeral and burial ceremony and expanding the culture of sympathy and intimacy with elderly and those who are dying.