The Idea
The text links material progress in the West to the loss of the spiritual dimension, suggesting that modernity can become incomplete if it is confined to consumption and technical achievement. The problem is not progress itself, but the moment human beings lose their connection to what gives their lives depth and meaning. In this way, Western modernity appears as a successful experience in some respects, yet one threatened by emptiness in others.
Concise Formulation
Western modernity: the emptying of the spiritual dimension
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim occupies a balancing position within the argument, because the book does not present the West as a fully complete model. Rather, it acknowledges what has been achieved there, then shows what has been lost. Through this tension between accomplishment and deficiency, the text establishes a broader standard for evaluating modernity, one that includes the spiritual dimension alongside the material and cognitive standards.
Why It Matters
The importance of this statement lies in the fact that it prevents Arkoun from being reduced to a discourse that glorifies Western modernity. It draws attention to the way his critique also encompasses the inner emptiness left behind by modernity. In this way, it helps the reader see his project as a search for a broader humanity, not as an celebration of a single civilizational form.
Brief Evidence
The text links material progress in the West to the loss of the spiritual dimension, suggesting that modernity can become incomplete if it is confined to consumption and technical achievement. The problem is not progress itself, but the moment human beings lose their connection to what gives their lives depth and meaning. Thus Western modernity appears as a successful experience in some respects, yet one threatened by emptiness in others.
Reading Questions
- How does the text understand the “emptying of the spiritual dimension”: as a loss of religion, or as a broader loss of meaning?
- Does the text criticize Western modernity from outside it, or from within its own promises?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.