The Institute for Sufi Studies, Humanity, Sufi Thought and Healing Lecture Series
Dr. Muhammad U. Faruque
“Islamic Psychology and Theories of Personality”
October 03, Tuesday 2023, at 11.00-12.00
Room B-1- 13 A Building of South Campus of Üsküdar University
Abstract
“Islamic Psychology and Theories of Personality”
What is Personality? How does it develop? What changes it and why do people have different personalities? This talk discusses Islamic theories of personality, while considering developments in modern psychology concerning genetic, environmental, learning, and unconscious factors that shape human personality. Drawing on Islamic psychology, Sufism, philosophy, and science, it delves into the intricate and multifaceted relationship between body, soul, heart, and spirit and argues that the ideal personality depends on cultivating wisdom and spiritual intelligence.
Who is Muhammad U. Faruque?
Muhammad U. Faruque is the Inayat Malik Assistant Professor and a Taft Center Fellow at the University of Cincinnati. He also holds a Visiting Scholar position at Harvard University. His highly acclaimed book Sculpting the Self (University of Michigan Press, 2021) addresses “what it means to be human” in a secular, post-Enlightenment world by exploring notions of selfhood and subjectivity in Islamic and non-Islamic literatures, including modern philosophy and neuroscience. Dr. Faruque is the author of three books and over forty-five academic articles, which have appeared (or are forthcoming) in numerous peer-reviewed journals. He gives public lectures on a wide range of topics such as climate change, AI, ethics, and selfhood. He is also a recipient of numerous awards, grants, and fellowships, including the prestigious Templeton Foundation Global Philosophy of Religion grant and the Title IV Grant, U.S. Dept. of Education.
