social backwardness

Introduction to the Psychology of the Oppressed Human

Author's name: Mustafa Hijazi

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This attempt is methodologically based on observation and psychological and social analysis of lived phenomena. It falls within the framework of clinical social psychology, which studies psychosocial phenomena using a clinical approach. The fact that it is not based on precisely defined field or experimental research may raise some doubts about the degree of certainty of its findings. This is certainly true, but the aim of this attempt is not to arrive at definitive conclusions, as this requires lengthy research. Rather, it aims to provide a kind of introduction to the psychology of underdevelopment and its rich contribution of findings that complement social and economic studies of this phenomenon. The fundamental value of this attempt lies in proposing a psychological methodology for studying the underdeveloped person, with his various existential characteristics. This methodology undoubtedly demonstrates that this existence is cohesive in its diverse and fragmented phenomena, and that it is organized within a dynamic structure: the condition of the oppressed person. This attempt, despite its shortcomings, aspires to pave the way for field psychological research that attempts to understand the underdeveloped human being in his nature, his particular situation, in a lively and realistic manner, to form the foundations of the psychology of underdevelopment. Only in this way can we finally put an end to the cloaking of this human being in theoretical molds and the objective interpretations of the human being of the industrial world, which have led to hasty generalizations that have deviated from their cognitive purpose, given the risk they carry of concealing and obscuring the true reality. This attempt will have achieved its goal if its data can assume the character of practical hypotheses, which launch field research that possesses sufficient precision and depth to understand the reality of our Arab human being.