The Philosophy Special Interest Group at the Association of Bahá’í Studies
The Philosophy SIG of the Association for Bahá’í Studies was founded to encourage the study of the Bahá’í Writings from a philosophical perspective. This can be done in at least four ways. The first is to study and explicate those parts of the Writings that are of an explicitly philosophical nature such as statements about ontology and metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophical anthropology and governance. Such an undertaking requires detailed analysis not only of clearly revealed texts but also their logical implications.
The second way to study the writings from a philosophical perspective is “correlating philosophy with the Bahá’í teachings” (Shoghi Effendi, Unfolding Destiny, 445). This approach focuses on seeing how the philosophy embedded in the divine revelation resembles or differs from past and present philosophies. In this way, students of the Bahá’í Writings can become more actively engaged in the intellectual life of our time and, thereby, draw attention to what the Writings have to offer.
The third way to study the Writings from a philosophical perspective is to examine the philosophical context in which the Bábí and Bahá’í revelations arose and developed. This explores what philosophical ideas were current in Iran, the Middle East and Europe during the time of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and how these concepts relate to those in the Writings. Such an approach is akin to the history of ideas.
The fourth way to understand the Writings philosophically may be described as being less formal and more personal or ‘existential’ than the previous three. In this approach, we explore how the Writings have shaped our own philosophical views and actions, as well as present our own philosophical responses – comments, meditations, questions, interpretations – to the Writings. Such responses might be recorded in a philosophical diary. Sharing and presenting these various responses is an important part of stimulating interest in the philosophical study of the Writings.
Why a Philosophical Study of the Bahá’í Writings?
The Bahá’í Writings plainly recognize the importance of philosophy in the life of all individuals. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us that
None must be left in the grades of ignorance, for ignorance is a defect in the human world. All mankind must be given a knowledge of science and philosophy – that is, as much as may be deemed necessary. All cannot be scientists and philosophers, but each should be educated according to his needs and deserts. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, 108; emphasis added.)
One way in which philosophy does this is by facilitating our understanding of reality. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says, “Philosophy consists in comprehending the reality of things as they exist, according to the capacity and the power of man,” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, 221.) In other words, philosophy, no less than science, is a way of learning about and understanding the real world. Insofar as such understanding is necessary, philosophy is necessary as well as one of our intellectual tools. In the collection of his talks “Divine Philosophy” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá outlines the framework in which to best pursue Bahá’í philosphical studies.
Nor did Shoghi Effendi think philosophy was in itself something that necessarily began and ended in words. He writes,
Philosophy, as you will study it and later teach it, is certainly not one of the sciences that begins and ends in words. Fruitless excursions into metaphysical hair-splitting is meant, not a sound branch of learning like philosophy. (Shoghi Effendi, The Unfolding Destiny of the British Bahá’í Community, 445; emphasis added.)
The Guardian recognises that philosophy per se is “a sound branch of learning” even while he recognises and rejects certain abuses and/or extreme developments of this subject which diminish its value. Furthermore, the Universal House of Justice gives great encouragement to philosophical studies when it writes,
It is hoped that all the Bahá’í students will follow the noble example you have set before them and will, henceforth, be led to investigate and analyse the principles of the Faith and to correlate them with the modern aspects of philosophy and science. (The Universal House of Justice, 1997 Jul 20, Scholarship and Related Subjects; emphasis added.)
This statement implicitly recognises the influential reach of philosophy is as well as the importance for Bahá’ís to study and correlate the Teachings with contemporary developments in this field. Identifying such correlations is obviously a way of building bridges to other schools of thought and facilitating dialogues which inevitably introduce Bahá’u’lláh’s revelation to a wider circle of readers and thinkers – something which can only be good. Philosophy facilitates this process by allowing us to “find a point of entry into contemporary mind in order that [it] might be able to present the [...] message in terms intelligible to their own age.” (John Macquarrie, An Existentialist Theology, 3) The same can be said of the Bahá’í message.
Moreover, the extensive presence of philosophy in the Bahá’í Writings illustrates its importance. For example, Some Answered Questions, notably in the second half, deals with numerous philosophical issues often in technical philosophical language that must be learned and understood before the texts can be more profoundly comprehended. The same may be said of The Promulgation of Universal Peace, and, to varying degrees, about Paris Talks, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and The Secret of Divine Civilization. A good example of such a passage is the following:
Some think that the body is the substance and exists by itself, and that the spirit is accidental and depends upon the substance of the body, although, on the contrary, the rational soul is the substance, and the body depends upon it. If the accident – that is to say, the body – be destroyed, the substance, the spirit, remains. (Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, 239)
This statement, which is the basis of his argument for the immortality of the soul and the relationship between mind and body, is steeped in the terminology and argumentation of Aristotle and is much more comprehendible with some exposure to it. The appropriate knowledge of philosophy will, therefore, expand our understanding of the Writings and thus put us in a stronger position to explain and defend them convincingly to others. This in itself improves not only in our own inner environment but also that of our audience.
We should also be aware that the philosophical study of the Bahá’í Writings can provide four major services to the Faith. In the first place, it can help the teaching work by helping us to explain and explicate the Writings to seekers in a clear and logically coherent manner, showing how the teachings conform to reason and how they meet the needs of our times.
The philosophical study of the Bahá’í Writings will also help in inter-faith dialogue fruitfully with other religion that have well developed philosophical traditions such as Roman Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism. Having such understanding is very useful in developing dialogue with other faiths.
Third, the philosophical study of the Bahá’í Writings will help us to develop an effective apologetics for defending the teachings of the Faith. The ability to apply careful rational analysis to opposing positions as well as to formulate reasonable replies based on the Writings will go a long way to clarify the teachings and to attract new students to the Writings.
Finally, a philosophical study can also inspire confidence in the individual believer who will discover through such study the enormous intellectual strengths, the logical inter-connections and the tremendous range of relevance of the Writings. This confidence will in turn have a positive affect on teaching, dialogue with other faiths and philosophical views as well as apologetics in addition to pursuing a ‘Bahá’í life.’
As we can see, there are a variety of good reasons to get involved in studying the Bahá’í Writings from a philosophical viewpoint. The Philosophy Special Interest Group at the Association of Bahá’í Studies is interested in hearing from all who choose this path.
Ian Kluge,
Philosophy SIG Coordinator