The Inherent Dignity, Intellect and Humanism, Islam and Westernism: With an Emphasis on Motahari, Hobbes, Locke, Spinoza and Berlin School of Thought

Right after the medieval ages in the west and when freedom became a recurrent value of significance, the relationship between religion and freedom was investigated by the Islamic scholars and researchers. The present study is an attempt to investigate the foundations of freedom within different Islamic schools of thought. Shiite sect is introduced, based on reasoning, as an existing sect possessing the underlying thought foundations for the idea of freedom. In addition, freedom, as a natural right, is investigated based on the Islamic system of thought. Attempts are made to investigate both the similarities and differences between the Islamic and Western thought systems with regard tofreedom as one of the human's inherent rights using a comparative frame of reference. In fact, humanism is considered to be the origin of freedom in the Western thought system, while it is the human intellect that is considered the origin of freedom in Islam and the means through which man can develop and evolve. This is what God has referred to as blowing His soul into humans. From the Islamic point of view, freedom is regarded as one element in the geometry of prosperity. In other words, this issue has been treated as a puzzle with a geometry. Values such as freedom, justice, security, wealth, etc. are not regarded as independent and parallel. The difference between the Islamic and Western perspectives with regard to inherent dignity results in differences within the realm of freedom. From a western perspective, resting upon Humanism, one’s freedom is limited by other's freedom. However, from an Islamic perspective based upon reason, the limits of freedom include individual's interests, society's interests and moving beyond the boundaries of reason as well as other's freedom. Moreover, the factors contributing to maintenance of freedom are also investigated.