The Idea
This statement understands modernity as an inward transition in the human being: from the submissive self to the free self, and from reliance on religious interpretation alone to openness to the sciences. The meaning is not necessarily the abolition of religion, but rather a shift in its position in shaping knowledge and public life. Modernity here thus means a reordering of the relationship between human beings, the world, authority, and knowledge.
Concise Formulation
Modernity: means: the transition of the self from submission to freedom and from religion to the sciences
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim offers a condensed image of modernity within the book’s argument, because it explains what actually changes when societies enter the process of modernization. The transformation is not limited to institutions, but affects the mental and practical structure of the self. For that reason, this statement serves the text’s aim of showing why the move toward modernity appears difficult and at the same time provokes resistance.
Why It Matters
Its importance lies in the fact that it makes modernity a matter of human formation, not merely a political or technical program. This brings the reader closer to the depth of the problem Arkoun is discussing: how modes of thinking change before slogans do. It also helps explain why reform falters if old mentalities remain unchallenged.
Brief Evidence
presents modernity as a transition from the created, submissive self to the free self presents modernity as a transition from the created, submissive self
Reading Questions
- How does the text describe the self’s transition from submission to freedom?
- What is the place of the sciences in this transformation compared with the religious source of knowledge?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear passage from the book’s material.