Document Type : Original Article
Author
Assistant Professor of Political Science. Shahid Mahallati Higher Education Institution
Abstract
Introduction
This article examines “The Representation of Subjectivity in the Works of Jalal Al-Ahmad and the Possibility of Proposing or Rejecting the Return to the Self”. The idea of "Return to Self" is considered an important and effective component in the Islamic Revolution of Iran. This idea became an important discourse during the Iranian revolution with the articles and fiction works of Jalal Al Ahmad, and in the following years with the writings and speeches of Dr. Shariati. The idea of "returning to self", is depends on the emergence of the “subjectivity”, and therefore the question is that the thoughts and works of Jalal al -' Ahmad, as one of the main proponents of this idea, is to allow the emergence of "subjectivity"?
There have been many studies on the idea of returning to oneself in the thought of Jalal Al-Ahmad, but none of them evaluate and criticize this idea based on Al-Ahmad's fictional works and socio-political treatises. Farzin Vahdat concludes in his book, Iran's Intellectual Encounter with Modernity, that the "self" that Al-Ahmad pursues is ambiguous. Ali Mirsepassi in Iranian Modernity considers Al-Ahmad's idea to be influenced by German Romanticism. Ali Qaysari also criticizes Jalal's view on Returning to the Original, in his book, Iranian Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century.And finally, in the Jalal Al Ahmad and the transition from tradition to modernity, Ghazian also believes that the roots and elements of "self" are missing in the works of Al-Ahmad.
Accordingly most authors who have examined the "Return to Oneself' in Jalal Al-Ahmad's works, consider it to lack a clear formulation and perspective, but have not provided a more detailed explanation in this regard. This article attempts to explain this issue in more detail by examining all of Jalal Al-Ahmad's works.
Methodology
The following article, by reading all the published texts of Jalal Al-Ahmad, examining the possibility or refusal of the emergence of "Iranian subjectivity" in Al-Ahmad's thought and works. From the perspective of the research method,this research follows the texts and thoughts of Jalal Al-Ahmad in the context of social-political events and Al-Ahmad's encounter with these events and thoughts of his time. This is the context-centered and text-centered interpretivism presented by Quinton Skinner
Discussion and Conclusion
In this research, "Returning to Oneself" has been viewed as an identity issue, and since many identity theorists consider subjectivity and human agency to be an important element in the formation of identity, according to this view, the idea of Return to the Self is also defined as dependent on the emergence and strength of the subject. In fact Identity and “subjectivity” have an existential relationship with each other.
The present study, by using the theoretical premises of subjectivism and the concept of "Representation", has sought the identity of the self and subjectivity in the works of Al-Ahmad, and has studied the representation of the "self" and the real world or simulation and the movement towards the hyper reality, as the basis for proposing or rejecting the return to the self in Al-Ahmad's works.
By studying the life and type of encounter of Jalal Al-Ahmed with the events of his time and then examining the position of the subject and "self" in Al-Ahmed's fictional works and political treatises, we come to the conclusion that the emergence of the idea of returning to oneself in Jalal's works is mostly in the form of protest to current situation. Of course, this protest approach is mixed with despair and appears mostly in the expression of negative feelings, and in this way, "Returning to Oneself" in Al-Ahmed's thinking faces important obstacles, and that is the ambiguous and fragile existence of the subject. Al-Ahmad does not allow subjectivity to take root. He always seeks to negate onself, or "subjectivity", and place it in a shadow of ambiguity. In this situation, the human subject exists and is defined only through a negative encounter with the other, and this negative approach towards the other, ultimately leads to the eliminat of oneself. Here, the only situation where human "subjectivity" appears is in a dramatic and unreal existence. In fact, the "oneself" always feels that he has no footing in reality and follows a pseudo-real life. Such an identity of the "self" causes him to move from the representation of the real world to the threshold of hyper reality. The "self" that appears on the threshold of hyper reality transforms the image and representation into something real and, instead of representation, approaches the hyper reality of Baudrillard. The result of this situation is a hazy understanding of the past and the future. The subjectivity presented by Al Ahmad has a hazy understanding of his history and tradition and does not know how to face his past and future. The idea of "Returning to Oneself" first of all requires a relatively clear understanding of what and who one is, and this is achieved by establishing stability, but the presence of a strong element of protest against the existing situation puts the subject in a state of continuous instability. This instability destroys the reflection and rethinking that is necessary to return to oneself and makes human subjectivity subordinate to the will directed to negation and protest. In this way, both subjectivity and self-awareness are questioned, and the real environment is seen as an arena of conflict and domination. Therefore, Al-Ahmed's thoughts and works have destroyed the primary and central element of Returning to Oneself, self-emerging and the elevation of human "subjectivity", and although he proposes this idea, he ultimately rejects it.
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