On Humanism: critiques from an Islamic psychology perspective
Every time I come across Maslow’s self-actualization theory, I ache a little bit at the many years my family and I spent fully engaged in this hierarchy and pursuing the top of the pyramid.
Abraham Maslow’s self actualization theory discusses that a person has an ultimate goal in life of personal growth and self-discovery. Everyone has a potential in life that they are seeking, and ultimate happiness and wellbeing will be attained when we achieve and actualize our potential. But first, basic needs must be met or else the person will not reach this level of searching for actualization and self-development.
The biggest limitation of this humanistic approach, and the reason why I ache for my past self, is that it distorts the definition of success and achievement, and puts a distracting emphasis on the self-development journey. When your sense of worth is tied heavily with your journey in self-actualization, you hold yourself to standards that may clash with Islam and dilute your awareness of the Hereafter as a consideration in your decisions.
This materialized to me in different contexts, which I will mention into two themes:
Self-development is not the ultimate success.
I found myself viewing others who are not engaged in self-development with a lens of pity and gratitude for the blessing of self-actualization (thinking that I am privileged to be reading self-help books and pursuing my passions). This thinking is flawed not just from the humility lens, but also from the fact that the person I may be pitying may be closer to Allah in terms of success in this world and Hereafter. If the ultimate goal of life that Allah told us is to achieve true submission and fulfill my duties of worshiping Allah and raise progeny that loves Him and calls to Him, then my 75 year old grandma who spent her life caring for my grandfather and working as a teacher and is praying to Allah every day is far better than any self-actualized person who is living in Wall Street and running 7 figure businesses.
Sense of worth is inherent, not tied to a career or identity.
At some points in my life, I noticed that I was critiquing myself harshly when failures emerged in my self-actualization journey. I would compare myself to others who seemed higher on the self-actualization pyramid that I was at the time. This can affect an individual’s sense of confidence and self-worth. One of the issues I struggle with as a therapist is this idea of self-worth being tied to productivity and self-actualization. How do we respond when a client has no job, no goals, no hobbies? How do we convince this client that they have inherent worth without any of those pieces, and that even if they are not engaged in self-actualization, they have responsibilities to perform toward their Creator beyond just developing oneself? So far, I tried inviting clients to think about this question, “even when I think of myself as having no worth, what about me is still valuable? what or who must I show up for?” when attempting to drive away suicidal ideation. I am always amazed at the answers, even when a person does not believe in a Creator, they still find responsibility in caring for a pet or plant, or perhaps showing up for their parents or loved ones. From an Islamic perspective, I strive to always tie an individual’s worth as a creation of Allah, the Ultimate Creator.
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