DINAMIKA ILMU - Vol. 18 No. 2 - Selected Views on Human Nature and their Implications on Education

Oct 15, 2026

Even though the evolution of time and scientific knowledge has provided humanity with new understanding of the concept of man, human nature remains too complex for any single study to capture fully. Because of this, research on man continues across disciplines. This qualitative study analyzes selected views of human nature, including psychoanalysis, radical behaviorism, humanistic, and Islamic psychologies, and examines their implications for education using textual analysis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Literature Review

DINAMIKA ILMU Vol. 18 No. 2, 2018 P-ISSN: 1411-3031; E-ISSN: 2442-9651 doi: [http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/di.v18i2.1069](http://dx.doi.org/10.21093/di.v18i2.1069) Selected Views on Human Nature and their Implications on Education Mohd Abbas Abdul Razak Department of Fundamental & Inter-Disciplinary Studies, KIRKHS, IIUM[e-mail: maarji@iium.edu.my](e-mail: maarji@iium.edu.my) Sayed Sikandar Shah Haneef Department ofFiqh and Usul Fiqh, KIRKHS, IIUM Maziah Bte Mustapha Department of Usulal-Din & Comparative Religion, KIRKHS, IIUM Abstract Even though the evolution of time and scientific knowledge have provided humanity with the latest understanding on the concept of man, nevertheless man is too complicated to be comprehended in his entirety through any single study carried out on him. As for this reason, the study on man has become perennial in nature. Human nature as a topic more popularly discussed in psychology has caught the attention of many concerned parties from other fields of research. Perhaps some of the most interested people in the study of man will be theologians, philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, biologists, etc. It is highly improbable for parents, psychologists, counselors and teachers to render their best help and services to their subjects without having the proper understanding on the concept of man. Due to this fact, this qualitative study was conducted to analyze some selected views on human nature. Ideas provided by psychoanalysis, radical behaviorism, humanistic and Islamic psychologies were analyzed. Upon analyzing the different concepts on human nature, the researchers examined the implications and possible outcomes when such concepts are applied in the field of education. The researchers employed the textual-analysis method in interpreting the pertinent data related to this study. Keywords: Psychoanalysis, Radical Behaviorism, Humanistic Psychology, Islamic Psychology, Education A. Introduction Man with his God given power of speech and creative intelligence dominates life on this planet. Interestingly, man is the only creation who has the potential to explore and investigate the marvels of God‟s creations in the universe as well as in the flora and fauna. This privileged position of man makes him a center of investigation in many varied fields of study. Despite having the capacity to explore stars that are millions of miles away from his own planet and other living organism and creations, man is yet unable to understand comprehensively of his own nature. His failure to fully understand his nature has caused some serious problems to his social and psychological well-being. Not knowing who he is, his destiny and purpose of life have pushed man into endless wars and other destructive behaviour that will eventually put an end to his existence on this planet (Nasr, 1975) . In realizing what is happening to human lives intoday‟s world, this study is a sincere attempt to analyze some selected views on human nature and to scrutinize as to the sort of individuals that can be produced when such views are applied in the field of education. For this purpose the researchers have chosen three concepts of human nature from Western mainstream psychology; namely psychoanalysis, radical behaviorism and humanistic psychology and compare them with ideas on man provided by Islamic psychology. Besides analyzing concepts of human nature and their impact on education, this study will put forward some recommendations to learning institutions on how to produce students with a truly integrated personality. B. Literature Review The book written by the prominent Jordanian scholar, Abdullah (1982), entitled „Educational Theory: A Qur’anic Outlook ‟ is a book that systematically discusses the principles of education found in the Holy Qur‟an. Very exclusively in chapter two, the author discusses the concept of human nature from the Islamic point of view. His sound criticism r

FAQs

Why does the study focus on selected views of human nature?

Human nature is described as too complex to be comprehended fully through one study, and different disciplines discuss it. The study analyzes selected views to examine what kinds of individuals may result when these ideas are used in education.

Which theoretical perspectives are compared in the study?

The study analyzes psychoanalysis, radical behaviorism, and humanistic psychology from Western mainstream psychology, and compares them with ideas of man provided by Islamic psychology.

How does the study interpret and analyze the data?

The researchers use a qualitative textual-analysis method to interpret the pertinent data related to human nature and its implications for education.

Oct 15, 2026

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