Philosophy

Mutazilism was the first school in Muslim theology. According to the Muslim calendar this school of thought was founded by Wasil ibn Ata in the end of the first or in the beginning of the second century in Bsra-a famous city of Iraq. The basic aim of a theologian is the affirmation, or defense, of the fundamentals of religion on the basis of religious manuscript, divine text, or Scripture only. But the Mutazilites started to use reason along with the sacred text to prove their stance. Use of reason along with revelation is the prominent feature of this school of thought. They tried to comprehend and interpret religious doctrines on rational grounds. They put their emphasis on reason along with divine text. It was the first theological movement based on reason along with revelation raised up on the horizon of the Muslim thought. We may say it a rational movement in the theological domain of the Muslim world. In the reaction of this movement and in the perspective of some specific pol...

This paper analyses Mulla Sadra’s conception of ‘existence’ along with a comparison of Ibn-i-Sina and Suharwardi’s ideas concerning existence. Mulla Sadra’s view of the ‘primacy of existence’ possesses the tenor of Sufism that establishes transcendental unity of existence and the view of ‘systematic ambiguity’ or ‘gradation of existence’ upholds the intellection of the multiplicity. Ibn-i-Sina and Suharwardi’s views provided basis for Sadra’s grand synthesis so that he managed to introduce an innovative fresh angle to look upon perennial religious and philosophical issues. No word or term has yet been created to denote inseparable relation of epistemology and ontology but only Sadra’s thought is entitled, most likely, to uphold such unification. His conception of existence consubstantiates the diverse structure and nature of things into unified reality of Being by keeping elementary discrimination and individuality of things into consideration through the idea of essence. Although S...

Good is the basic and absolute value of human life while evil is relative. When we start our discussion about ethics and ethical values these questions arise in our mind: What is meant by ethics? Why ethical life is necessary for us? How the welfare and betterment of an individual and society is possible? In this age of discoveries and inventions, is there any need of ethics and ethical life for a being? A man of this age, which is in struggle to overcome and capture the space and new galaxies, has any need of ethics. If so then which kind of ethics and ethical life will be suitable for him? This article is an effort to bring out the answers of these questions in the perspective of Nahjul Balagha (The peak of eloquence)-the book of Hazrat Ali (A.S.).

Islam is a revealed religion. Quran is a book of revelation. It is also known the as the constitution and book of guidance. The main subject of this book is human beings. The major purpose of it is the welfare and betterment of humanity. The literal meanings of Islam are peace, love, tranquility, tolerance and goodwill. Holy Prophet (S.A.W.W.) is the last messenger of Allah Almighty for humankind. He lived an ideal and exemplary life. Allah Almighty declares Him as an ideal for all the beings. The value of a being depends upon the attitude, behaviour manners and character. There are a number of theories and philosophies are in practice in the world. What is the approach of Islam in this regard? This is main theme of this article.

The concept of happiness has been under consideration among philosophers, psychologists, theologians and mystics since a long time. These disciplines have tried to explain the concept in their own respective manners. The purpose of this paper is to examine the theoretical and practical aspects of the notion of happiness. This would explicate two approaches to the problem of happiness: philosophical and psychological to know how to achieve happiness and avoid unhappiness. We claim that happiness is not merely a matter of fate but a skill that can be learnt to groom one’s personality and to lessen pains. This paper deals with following core questions: Is the term ‘happiness’ definable? Is happiness an internal state of mind or the result of external state of affairs?

Action without true knowledge is of no benefit. This interconnected relationship of knowledge and action has a great influence on life. This paper endeavors to bring into light the unity of knowledge and action under the domain of mysticism with special focus on Ali Hujwiri’s most celebrated book Kashf al Mahjub. There is a global blow of fear and terror and it seems almost impossible to reduce the gap between two extremes in such a technical and scientific age. Mysticism however could be taken as a beam of hope which can pave the way towards peace. Ali Hujwiri emphasizes to consider only those as true Sufis who balance out their relation with this world and with God at the same time.

AbstractThere are so many long debates on the puzzle of individual and society. Some people favor that individual is the basic unit of society so main focus should be individual. Others favor the main importance of the society. The purpose of this paper is to address these two extremes. The paper addresses these questions: Is the controversy of individual and society a solvable issue or not? What are those social aspects which make an individual civilized? Can individual survive as a mere individual having no connection with any society? What are the benefits which an individual can only have from a society? All these questions will be analyzed with the thought of Allama Muhammad Iqbal that how he deals with the relationship of individual and society.Keywords: Individual, Society, Self, Ego, Consciousness, Atomism, Holism, Potentiality, Actuality.(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)What is an Individual?· Is individual a unique independently existing being having no re...

Justice is prerequisite for peace and harmony in the society. As every region of the world has its specific culture and civilization therefore the understanding of the concept of justice varies. When we start our discussion on the concept and theories of justice, following questions come to our mind: What is justice? Why is it so important in life? How justice can be attained? What will be the distinguishing features of a just society? Who is capable of ruling a just state? Is the cry for justice one of the top issues of the Pakistani society or not? The major purpose of this article is to answer the said questions, to examine the concept of justice in the perspective of Plato’s Republic, to evaluate the feeble political setup of Pakistan and to examine the factors behind the disharmony and warfare in Pakistan. We always long for an impartial and fair treatment either in courts or work places. From the very beginning till now we cannot ignore the need of justice in our lives. Justic...

The essay is an exploration of the Greeks sociological history, appraisal of its traditional civilization and its intellectual heritage. The philosophical development rooted in its traditional civilization of Greek gave rise to the development of natural and social sciences, especially the competing visions and methodologies that still characterizes modern social and natural sciences.
integral to philosophy of social science.

This essay is an exploration of the varieties of Physicalist theories in the philosophy of mind. It briefly explores dualism (widely held theory) in the philosophy of mind, the mind-body problem and monistic physicalism as a possible solution to it. The essay categorizes Physicalist/materialist theories into reductive and eliminative materialism. It explores Analytical behaviourism, it's development in the backdrop of Wittgenstein's private language argument. The identity theory and functionalism, their relationship and the objections that have been raised. It briefly explores the supervenience theory and concludes with a comprehensive view of its development and future.

In our critical analyses of the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goal of SDG 16, we examined two conflict-ridden regions of Somaliland and Balochistan. The rationale behind choosing regions was to highlight the factors affecting SDGs at a regional level, especially regarding environmental sustainability, international development efforts, and the protracted political status of these two restive regions.

The presentation focused on similarities and key differences that affect the implementation and monitoring of SDG 16 in Somaliland and Balochistan. The presentation highlighted commonalities between the two, such as colonial territorial divisions of the historic lands, post-independence economic deprivation, political marginalization, and separatist sentiment in the indigenous population. The two main contrasts highlighted were the self-declared independent status of Somaliland and the active, armed separatist movement in the backdrop of Chinese development efforts in Balochistan.

The presentation highlighted the self-declared independent status of Somaliland, which makes it a unique case study of SDG implementation. Furthermore, it was argued that despite not being involved in SDG in negotiations in 2015, it has proactively engaged Agenda 2030 and included them in its National Development Plan II (Somaliland SDG16+ Progress Report, Somaliland Civil Society SDG16+ Coalition, 2019; ). Due to unrecognized political status, civil society organizations play an active role in implementation and monitoring. The government reports the implementation to an assortment of CSOs instead of the UN. It can be termed the bottom-up approach to the implementation (Localising SDG16+: A Somaliland Case Study | Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2017).

In the case of Balochistan, the central contention was how an exclusive rather than inclusive development agenda by both national governments together with huge Chinese investment in the region is fueling separatist movements and is making the implementation of SDG 16 even more difficult in an already underdeveloped country (Costing Priority SDG Targets in Balochistan, n.d.). While the provincial government and national government implement the SDGs, the presentation highlighted some of the grave failures concerning different elements of SDG 16, such as corruption, weak institutions, and lack of democratic participation, in the backdrop of separatist movements that see the Chinese Development Agenda as exploitive, exclusive, and an attempt at neo-colonialism (Suleman, 2023; Nazir Ahmad Mir & Yousuf, 2024).

Furthermore, the presentation highlighted the issue of environmental degradation in the newly developed port city of Gwadar as an example of the failure to implement the SDGs (Suleman, 2023; Nazir Ahmad Mir & Yousuf, 2024). The port city is the site of multi-billion dollar Chinese investment and infrastructural development. Gwadar is the epitome of an exclusive development agenda. A total disregard for the indigenous population and lack of development in the old city has led to flooding of the native lands (Suleman, 2023; Nazir Ahmad Mir & Yousuf, 2024). Other issues that were alluded to were illegal fishing contracts and enforced disappearances in the wake of the burgeoning separatist movement.

In a critical reflection on the implementation of SDG 16 in both regions, we find two different approaches in two restive regions. In the case of Somaliland, due to the lack of internationally recognized political status, the bottom approach to implementation and monitoring is observed, whereas, the Balochistan armed separatist movement has restricted the space for civil society to organize, and the national and provincial governments have failed to implement targets and prioritize SDG 16 (Arugay et al., 2021). The widely held distrust of national and provincial governments leaves little room for community engagement and consultation, including women's groups, youth groups, minority rights organizations, etc (Localising SDG16+: A Somaliland Case Study | Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2017). It can also be termed a failure to uphold a key community development principle of community engagement. The top-down approach and lack of civic or grassroots engagement in the wake of foreign intervention and international development make it difficult for national and provincial governments to adapt the SDGs to the local context in Balochistan, whereas Somaliland has a more inclusive approach to SDGs and can fit SDGs to the local context.

In terms of implementation of the SDG 16 targets, Somaliland has prioritized SDG 16 as compared to Balochistan. Although we find serious capacity constraints in both Somaliland and Balochistan, we see several efforts to improve 16.3 (rule of law) and 16.10 (access to information) and expand legal aid services in Somaliland. In Balochistan, the focus is more on other goals like SDG 3 (health), SDG 4 (education), and SDG 8 (decent work) (Iqbal, 2023; Localising SDG16+: A Somaliland Case Study | Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2017).

With regards to institutional structures or frameworks and being part of the internationally recognized state of Pakistan, Balochistan has access to international support and is well placed for long-term implementation of SDGs and SDG 16 in particular as compared to Somaliland, which relies heavily on CSOs and may face challenges in sustaining efforts over time (Nguyen, 2017).

Resource constraints and lack of funding are problems that are common to both the restive regions. Both case studies show how financial constraints can limit the implementation of the SDGs. The SDG 16 goals of peace, justice, and inclusive society are inextricably inked to transparency (Iqbal, 2023; Costing Priority SDG Targets in Balochistan, n.d.)

Both case studies offer key lessons in the implementation of SDG 16. The approach of a self-declared independent state that is seeking political recognition is more focused towards grassroot civic engagements, a bottom-up approach towards implementation with more community engagement and local empowerment  (Localising SDG16+: A Somaliland Case Study | Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2017). On the other hand, with a strong separatist movement that seeks to limit the national and international intervention in Balochistan, a top-down approach by the national and provincial governments with a strong institutional framework that gives little priority to SDG 16 thus results in issues and challenges that threaten the environment, indigenous community livelihood, and further invigorate separatist sentiments in the populace. An ideal scenario might involve both a politically recognized government with a strong institutional framework and active community participation and consultation in implementing the SDGs.

The class discussion after the presentation was around the broader question of whether international frameworks, institutions, and interventions can help achieve the SDGs in the local contexts. It was a pertinent question about Balochistan and Somalia, which both sought international recognition of their issues. In the case of Balochistan, wider recognition of challenges and threats to the indigenous population's land and livelihood. During the class discussion, there was wider agreement on issues and challenges that can arise with such foreign involvement and developmental intervention.

In our critical analyses of the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goal of SDG 16, we examined two conflict-ridden regions of Somaliland and Balochistan. The rationale behind choosing regions was to highlight the factors affecting SDGs at a regional level, especially regarding environmental sustainability, international development efforts, and the protracted political status of these two restive regions.