Nayef Ballouz

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Nayef Ballouz ( Arabic نايف بلّوز ) (* February 1931 in Damascus ; † August 25, 1998 in Latakia ) was an Arabic philosopher and university professor from Syria .

From the obituary by Alexander Flores: Ballouz was one of the most important Arab intellectuals. Nayef Ballouz was a Marxist; For a time he was active in the area of ​​the Communist Party. But he was too big and independent a head to endure the theoretically restrictive party discipline in the long run. Until his death he taught philosophy at Damascus University, Syria.

He saw himself as a left-wing Arab philosopher. Important works dealt with modern Islam and Arabic philosophy and were an attempt to show a progressive development direction of Islam in the context of a globalized world. For various reasons, much of his work has not yet been published.

That Nayef Ballouz was a clear head and a keen analyst was known in his immediate circle, but also far beyond. His advice was sought by left and nationalist forces from all over the Arab world. But since his analysis was often relentless, it by no means always found a grateful reception and also created opponents for him.

Life

Childhood, youth, studies (1931–1955)

Nayef Ballouz's parental home in Damascus, where he was born in February 1931 (not certain) as the third of 5 children, was in the old town of Damascus. The Christian family came from the region on the Hermon mountain. He grew up in the vicinity of the Christian quarter in Damascus under rather poor, but educationally open conditions. The father died early (when Nayef Ballouz was 11 years old) and left nothing to the family. Education was the only way out of poverty. His mother worked hard to enable him to attend school. During the French mandate, great importance was attached to the French language and this gave him the basis for an excellent command of it. Already in the 11th grade he worked at his school in the 10th grade as an assistant teacher. He finished school in 1949 with the Abitur. This was followed by a study of philosophy at the University of Damascus, which he finished in 1955. He financed this study himself by working as a teacher in schools near and far from the capital.

Political life, army, travel (1955–1963)

After completing his degree, Nayef Ballouz did not have an academic career in mind. He initially worked as a translator (Arabic-French) in the Bulgarian consulate and took an active part in the political life of the 1950s with its optimistic mood and the atmosphere of liberation, development and socialist ideals. He joined the Syrian Communist Party. As a member of this party, after the founding of the VAR (United Arab Republic), he was first demoted during his military service and then thrown into prison. Accidentally released after three months, he fled to Lebanon shortly before the political police returned to his door.

This was followed by a two-year stay in Beijing from 1960 to 1962, where he taught the Arabic language at the Institute for Diplomatic Training. When the Cultural Revolution began, he and the other foreigners had to leave the country.

Scientific life, dissertation, teaching, work (1963–1998)

In 1963 Nayef Ballouz received a scholarship at the Humboldt University in Berlin to complete his dissertation and traveled to the GDR. During this time, and after strongly attacking the Syrian Communist Party leadership because of its Stalinist orientation, he resigned from the party. He recognized early on that the Soviet model was wrong and turned against the ideological constraints within the party. He felt like a Marxist outside the parties.

In 1968 he submitted a dissertation with the title: " Early Islam and its intellectual and cultural history ". In it he examined this period from a materialist-Marxist perspective; In addition to his Christian origins, this is a reason why this dissertation, which was unique in the Arab world at the time, was never translated into Arabic or published. The translation of Lukács' work " Essays on Realism " into Arabic in 1971 marked the beginning of a series of publications in Syria.

From 1971, now back in Damascus, Nayef Ballouz taught at the Philosophy Section of the Philosophical Faculty ( des Lettres ) at the University of Damascus. He started out as a lecturer and later became a full professor. His teaching ended when he died.

Works (selection)

Books

  • Essays on Realism (1971) دراسات في الواقعية | Translation into Arabic: Damascus
  • Marxism and the Arab-Islamic Legacy (1980) الماركسية والتراث العربي الإسلامي | Arabic: collective of authors, article by Nayef Ballouz, pp. 167–209, Beirut
  • Aesthetics (1980) علم الجمال | Arabic: textbook, Damascus
  • Methodology of Natural Sciences (1981) مناهج البحث في العلوم الطبيعية ج 2 | Arabic: textbook, Damascus
  • Methodology of the Humanities (1982) مناهج البحث في العلوم الاجتماعية | Arabic: textbook, Damascus
  • History of Social Thought (1983) تاريخ الفكر الاجتماعي | Arabic: textbook, Damascus
  • On Islam and its significance today (1986) في الإسلام وأهميته الراهنة | Arabic: commissioned work [not yet published]

Articles, essays

  • Early Islam and the Present (1969) | In: German Journal for Philosophy, Volume 17, Issue 3, pp. 311–326, Berlin article as PDF
  • Non-Capitalist Development and Islam (1970) | In: Mitteilungen des Institut für Orientforschung 16, Heft 4, S. 521-540
  • The theory of strategic polemics (1970) نظرية السجال الستراتيجي | Arabic: in "Syrische Militärzeitschrift", Damascus
  • Some cultural aspects of the oriental feudal system under the Arab Caliphate (1972) بعض الملامح الحضارية للإقطاعية الشرقية في ظل الخلافة العربية | Arabic: in the magazine Dirasat Arabiyya, issue 72/1 pp. 3-21 , Beirut
  • Youth and Revolution: Generation Conflict and Class Struggle (1973) الشبيبة والثورة: صراع الأجيال وصراع الطبقات | Arabic: in the magazine Dirasat Arabiyya, issue 73/12 pp. 2-19 , Beirut
  • Youth and Revolution: the historical youth movement in the capitalist and third world (1973) الشبيبة والثورة: التحرك التاريخي للشبيبة في العالم الرأسمالي والعالم الثالث | Arabic: in the magazine Dirasat Arabiyya, issue 73/1, pp. 36–61, Beirut
  • Ideology and the relationship between God and the world in ibn Ruschd (1978) الأيديولوجيا وعلاقة الله بالعالم في فلسفة ابن رشد | Arabic: in the magazine Dirasat Arabiyya, issue 78/2 pp. 30-58 , Beirut
  • A Viewpoint on the Book of Dr. Hussein Mroués "Materialistic tendencies in the Arabic-Islamic philosophy" (1979) وقفة مع كتاب "النزعات المادية في الفلسفة العربية الإسلامية" ملدكتور حروية | Arabic: in the magazine Dirasat Arabiyya, issue 79/4 pp. 23-66 , Beirut (after a lecture speech)
  • Sociology of Knowledge (1982) سوسيولوجيا المعرفة | Arabic: Damascus (textbook for the theater institute)
  • Decisive turning points in the thinking of Lukács (1985) الانعطافات الحاسمة في تفكير لوكاتش | Arabic: p. 50, Damascus (unpublished manuscript of a lecture at the Goethe-Institut Damascus on November 26, 1985)
  • Comments on Nation, History and Culture (1986) ملاحظات حول الأمة والتاريخ والثقافة | Arabic: Publication, pp. 69–110, Damascus (contribution to a symposium)
  • Mahdi Aamel, the roots gave him strength to explore the unknown and to find the truth (1987) مهدي عامل, في انتمائه وجد القدرة على ارتياد المجهول واكتشاف الحقيقة | Arabic: Zeitschrift al Tariq, issue 87/3 pp. 3–34, Beirut
  • Understanding and Interpretation in Scientific Knowledge (Epistemology) (1992) (الفهم والتفسير في المعرفة العلمية (أبستمولوجيا | Arabic: p. 95, Damascus (text from the University of Damascus)
  • The Communist Manifesto in the Modern Age (1998) البيان الشيوعي وعصرنا | Arabic: Zeitschrift an-Nahj, issue No. 98/51 pp. 98-130 , Damascus
  • Ibn Rushd between Rationality and Ideology (1999) ابن رشد بين العقلانية والأيديولوجيا | Arabic: ʿAlam al-Fikr magazine, issue No. 99/4 pp. 27–66, Kuweit (post-processing of a lecture at the Cervantes Institute in Damascus on February 7, 1998)
  • A conversation about globalization (1999) حوار حول العولمة | Arabic: ِ an-Nahj issue No. 99/54 pp. 190-228 , Damascus (interview as post-processing of a lecture)
  • Globalization as reflected in contemporary Arab thought (2000) العولمة في مرآة الفكر العربي المعاصر | Arabic: an-Nahj issue No. 2000/58 pp. 52-74 , Damascus

And many other smaller scripts [Arabic: in the manuscript]:

  • The Qaramitic Society, The Role of Analytical Philosophy, Importance of Education in Managing Social Progress, Non-Capitalist Development and Islam, The Issues of Arab Strategy after the Sadat Visit, The Third World and Its Perspectives, Attempts by the Western and in particular German understanding of Islam, medicine and magic, the emergence of medicine, an investigation into the Andalusian muwashschah , etc ...

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alexander, Flores: Obituary, Nayef Ballouz (1931-1998) . In: Information Project Near and Middle East eV (Ed.): INAMO . Inamo # 16/1998: Education and Globalization, No. 16 . Berlin 1998, DNB  017536081 , p. 34 ( ballouz.de [PDF]).
  2. ↑ Nayef, Ballouz: Early Islam and its intellectual- cultural prehistory . Ed .: Dissertation HU Berlin. Berlin 1968, OCLC 313244933 , p. 279 ( google.com ).
  3. ↑ Georg Lukács: Essays on Realism . المؤسسة الجامعية للدراسات و النشر و التوزيع, Damascus 1985, OCLC 929512668 , p. 248 (Arabic: دراسات في الواقعية . Translated by Nayef Ballouz, first edition: Syrian Ministry of Culture, 1971).
  4. ↑ Tawfīq Sallūm, Bu ʿAli Yasin, Nayef Ballouz, Ridwan as-Sayyid, Fajallah Dib Salih, ʿAli Harb, Nabīl Sulaymān: Marxism and the Arab-Islamic Heritage: a discussion of the works of Ḥusayn Murūwah and Ṭayyib Tayyib . Ed .: Nabīl Sulaymān. Dār al-Ḥadāthah, Beirut 1982, OCLC 949538170 , essay Nayef Ballouz: A Viewpoint on Hussein Muruwa's book "The materialistic tendencies in Arab-Islamic philosophy", p. 292 (Arabic: الماركسية والتراث العربي الإسلامي: مناقشة لأعمال حسين مروة والطيب تيزيني . First edition: 1980).
  5. ↑ Nayef Ballouz: aesthetics . Ed .: University of Damascus. المطبعة التعاونية, Damascus 1981, OCLC 4770722119 , p. 312 (Arabic: علم الجمال . First edition: 1980).
  6. ↑ Nayef Ballouz: methodology of science . Ed .: University of Damascus. Damascus 1981 (Arabic: مناهج البحث في العلوم الطبيعية .).
  7. ↑ Nayef Ballouz: Methodology of the Humanities . Ed .: University of Damascus. Damascus 1982, p. 458 (Arabic: مناهج البحث في العلوم الاجتماعية .).
  8. ↑ Nayef Ballouz: History of Social Thought . Ed .: University of Damascus. Damascus 1997, OCLC 4770178827 , p. 234 (Arabic: تاريخ الفكر الاجتماعي . First edition: 1983).
  9. ↑ Nayef Ballouz: On Islam and its significance today . Copy with no verified references in Arabic. August 1986, p. 105 ( google.com - Arabic: في الإسلام وأهميته الراهنة . Commissioned work, created after several hours of conversation with President Hafiz al-Assad. Assad wanted to know how Nayef Ballouz assesses the emerging movements of political Islam. There is no further response after the manuscript has been handed over The occasional use of quotations from the work in speeches by the President suggests that it has been read. However, Nayef Ballouz shied away from publication throughout his life, and not only because of this: he was of the opinion that without extensive training of the knowledge that has now arisen, this would make no sense.).
  10. ↑ Nayef Balluz: Early Islam and the Present . Special print. Ed .: German magazine for philosophy. tape 17 , no. 3 . VEB Deutscher Verlag für Wissenschaft, March 1969, ISSN  0012-1045 , p. 16 , doi : 10.1524 / dzph.1969.17.3.311 .
  11. ↑ German Academy of Sciences in Berlin, Institute for Orient Research: Communications from the Institute for Orient Research . Ed .: Akademie-Verlag 1953-1972. tape 16 , no. 4 , 1970, ISSN  0020-2304 , OCLC 1478684 , pp. 19 .
  12. ↑ Nayef Ballouz: The theory of strategic polemics . Ed .: ٍ Syrian military magazine of the General Staff. Issue 8, 9. Damascus 1970 (Arabic: نظرية السجال الستراتيجي .).
  13. ↑ a b c d e Dar at-Tali'a (ed.): Dirasat Arabiyya (Arab essays: Quarterly magazine for culture, economic and social) . Beirut 1965, OCLC 4771350885 (Arabic: دراسات عربية .).
  14. ↑ Ba'ath Party (Ed.): First symposium of the Ba'ath Party on Arab unity . Damascus February 24, 1986, p. 69–110 (Arabic: الندوة الفكرية الأولى لحزب البعث حول الوحدة العربية .).
  15. ↑ Heirs of Antoun Tabet (ed.): Al-Tariq: quarterly journal on politics and culture . Beirut 1941 (Arabic: الطريق .).
  16. ↑ a b c Center for Socialist Studies in the Arab World, مركز الأبحاث والدراسات الاشتراكية في العالم العربي (ed.): An-Nahj (magazine) . Damascus 1983 (Arabic: النهج .).
  17. ↑ Nayef Ballouz: Ibn Ruschd between rationality and ideology . Ed .: ʿAlam al-Fikr. Kuwait 1999, OCLC 949534553 , p. 27-66 (Arabic: ابن رشد بين العقلانية والأيديولوجيا .).
  18. ↑ National Council for Culture, Art and Literature (ed.): ʿ Alam al-Fikr (magazine, quarterly) . Kuwait 1970, OCLC 4771372247 ( gov.kw - Arabic: عالم الفكر .).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ballouz, Nayef
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Syrian philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH February 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Damascus
DATE OF DEATH August 25, 1998
Place of death Latakia