التأمل الباطني أو الاستبطان

التأمل الباطني أو الاستبطان

- Inner meditation or introspection

It follows from the defects of automatic observation that returning to inner contemplation is very necessary. Introspection is a closer look at the phenomena of feeling. And determining their characteristics, bringing them closer together, to reveal their laws.

But can this method be followed in psychology, and can the soul observe itself? Isn't the seer here the same as the one who sees, and the knower the same as the known? How does a person contemplate his inner conditions, when he contemplates them instead of their qualities? How can he trust his own opinion when he is at all times vulnerable to error and misguidance? Philosophers have objections to the method of inner meditation, which we can summarize in these two paragraphs

1 - The first objection

Bey and Rowe said: Inner contemplation is contradictory and futile, and the evidence for that is that it requires unity

He is aware of what he perceives, and we cannot think that we are not thinking about something, because if we think about something we are occupied with it, and we do not notice ourselves in the state of thinking. He also said: Our attention to observing ourselves destroys at the same time our attention to the subject of the thing, and vice versa.

The opinion of Auguste Comte was similar to the opinion of Pierre and Loulou, except that he did not prove the impossibility of internal observation. Rather, he said that it was unscientific. He also said: The observer cannot control himself, but his words do not preclude the possibility of internal observation (1).

In fact, the objection of Behe ​​and Rowe does not completely invalidate internal observation, because experience proves to us its possibility, even if it is fraught with difficulties. Psychological phenomena are complex, complex, frequently intertwined, greatly intertwined with each other, and difficult to analyze, observe, and determine their true causes. See: Fear and anger, for example, you will find evidence for what we say. Who is there who can understand all the conditions of his fear and anger, and show us the degree of their connection to other psychological states? Suppose you have committed a sin, the idea of ​​sin generates in you an emotion of remorse, and this emotion of remorse is reflected and affects your thought. It revives the memory of the sin you committed, and makes it extremely impactful and cruel, as if each of these two things is a reason for the other: the external bitterness.


Inner meditation is possible, but it is very difficult. Let us now remember some of these difficulties: 1 - Difficulties arising from the scenes: Inner meditation requires precision in observation and skill in analysis. Only those who support the soul with great attention can do it, but most people cannot. This is because they focus on material things rather than moral things. Hu Fuding said: (Man was practical before he became theoretical. Observing the life of animals and humans, observing the forms of plants, the types of fruits and the movements of celestial bodies, is more valuable than observing oneself in times of struggle for survival. Taking the rule “Know thyself” is a philosophical and Requires a high degree of culture, (2)


The child, like a primary man, is oriented to the outside world, unable to observe himself and contemplate himself. Who among us can contemplate himself once a day? We prefer action to sight. If we contemplate our inner life, it reveals components whose elements we cannot reveal except through careful analysis.

However, there is a group of people who have developed a precise faculty from psychoanalysis. They are psychological by nature (1), they can go deep into analysis, see themselves, and describe them, while they are in a natural state, unblemished.

With something. 2 - Difficulties arising from the thing seen: - The states of feeling are very moving, rapidly changing, and the edges are not clear, and therefore it is difficult to analyze them and examine them carefully.

It is as if the soul is a solar painting, if things pass through it quickly, only vague shapes are drawn on it. If psychological conditions were to return in themselves to the scene of feeling, it would be possible to repeat the viewing and it would be easy to clarify the first observations with the second observations. But we know that a single psychological state does not go through the soul twice, and if it returns to it, its second qualities are different from its first qualities.

We never stay in one state, but rather it changes every moment

- Difficulties arising from the tool of observation: - We cannot contemplate ourselves unless we seek help from attention and memory. As for attention, it changes the observed psychological reality little by little, but as for memory, it is not truthful. Because it changes the reality of reality, and changes the thing seen when looking at it and thinking about it. An example of this is that if we contemplate our souls while they are in a state of shame, we substitute an attribute for

The shame we feel and its intensity has been reduced

4- Some other difficulties

A - Add to this that a person cannot contemplate himself while he is in intense states of action or emotion. Such as passion, agitation, effort, and attention. The intense sorrows, if they occur

The soul became tight and disturbed. Such situations take over a person's feelings and consume all his mental activity, so he cannot direct his observation to them. B - Inner meditation narrows the circle of feeling, making its center clear and abandoning its edges

- التأمل الباطني أو الاستبطان

- Inner meditation or introspection


مظلمة . لذلك كانت ملاحظة الأحوال الواضحة المنيرة اقرب إلى تأملنا من الأحوال المظلمة ، وما أكثر ما ننتبه لمركز الدائرة وتهمل ما يحيط بها من أحوال النفس الفاعلة . - ان الانسان لا يستطيع أن يتجرد من كل تصور سابق ، ولو استطاع ذلك لتأمل أحواله الداخلية وهي خالصة من كل شوب ، إلا انه لا يرى نفسه الا من خلال هذه التصورات ، فيختلط عنده الحاضر بالماضي ، ويخطىء في ملاحظة ذاته ج - .

٢ - الاعتراض الثاني

ان التأمل الباطني لا يطلعنا إلا على الأحوال الجزئية ، مع انه لا علم الا بالكليات . والسبب في ذلك ان هذا التأمل محدود ، لا ينطبق الا على الشخص المشاهد ، ولا يكشف الا عن الأحوال الشخصية الجزئية التي لا يمكن تعميمها .

قال (جوفروا ) : إذا قابلنا بين ماضينا وحاضرنا امكننا ان نميز المتغير الزائل عن الثابت الدائم . . الانسانية موجودة في كل انسان ، وصورة النوع موجودة في كل فرد ، ولكن كيف نميز الكلي المقوم للانسانية عن الجزئي الخاص بالفرد وحده ، أفلا نخطىء إذا صدقنا ما يقوله كل فرد عن نفسه ؟ الا يختلف تعريف الانسانية باختلاف الاشخاص؟ انها عند الكريم والعالم غير ما هي عليه عند البخيل والجاهل، ولشد ما يكون الاختلاف عظيما بين رجل عاش وحيداً منفرداً ، ورجل خالط الناس وعرف أهواءهم ومطامعهم ، فأي تعريف نفضل وأي رجل نصدق ؟ - كل ذلك يبعثنا على القول ان الطريقة الشخصية غير كافية ، وانه لا يمكننا الاطلاع على حقيقة الشعور الا إذ خرجنا من دائرة الملاحظة 6

الداخلية ، ونظرنا الى الآخرين

٣ - بعض الاحتياطات

ينتج من ذلك انه ينبغي لنا ان نأخذ في الملاحظة الداخلية بالاحوط والأوثق للوصول إلى الدقة والضبط . ولنذكر الآن بعض هذه الاحتياطات :

1 - يجب تدوين الظواهر بأسرع وقت حق لا يصيبها التغير . وكذلك يحب الشك في كل ملاحظة داخلية لم تدون بسرعة . مثال ذلك ان تذكر الحوادث عرضة

للتبدل كثيراً ، كما دلت على ذلك تجارب ) ستون ) و ( كلا باريد ) و ( بورست ( في الشهادات ، وتجارب ( فوكولت ) في الأحلام ، وتجارب ( فيليب ) في تدوين الصور الذهنية .

۲ - يجب نقد الملاحظات الداخلية التي يأتينا بها غيرنا نقداً علمياً دقيقاً . شبيها بنقد المؤرخين للوثائق والشهادات ) كنقد الأصالة ، ونقد التأويل ، ونقد الروايات ) .

٣ - وينبغي لنا إذا اردنا دراسة الظواهر النفسية التي تجري في نفوس الآخرين أن لا نعتمد على ما يصفون به أنفسهم، بل يجب علينا أن نحاول ملاحظة ذلك في نفوسنا أيضاً.

- وأخيراً يجب على الباحث النفسي أن يتجنب الإيحاء الذاتي عند ملاحظة نفسه ، كما يجب عليه عند ملاحظة الآخرين أن يتجنب الايجاء اليهم . وقد دلت التجربة على أن الوقوع في الايحاء الذاتي عند تحقيق إحدى الفرضيات سهل جداً . فمن الضروري إذن لتجنب الايحاء أن يجري التحقيق في شروط يكون الملاحظ فيها جاهلا بالنتائج المنتظرة. وسواء ألاحظ العالم نفسه أم استعان بملاحظة شخص آخر فإن هذا الشرط ضروري . ان الطرق التي يجب اتباعها لتجنب الايحاء كثيرة. فاذا اجريت التجربة في مخبر نفسي وجب اتباع الارشادات التي ذكرها ( بيرون ) و ( طولوز ( في كتابها Technique de ) psychologie expérimentale ، ، واذا أجريت خارج المخابر النفسية أو كما يقول علماء الحياة في الهواء الطلق اختلفت الاحتياطات التي يجب اتخاذها باختلاف عبقرية كل مجرب.

- Inner meditation or introspection


Dark. Therefore, observing clear, luminous conditions is closer to our contemplation than dark conditions, and how often we pay attention to the center of the circle and neglect the states surrounding it of the active soul. A person cannot be devoid of every previous perception, and if he were able to do so, he would contemplate his inner conditions, which are free of every impurity. However, he does not see himself except through these perceptions, so he mixes the present with the past, and makes a mistake in noticing himself. C -

2 - The second objection

Inner contemplation only informs us of partial conditions, even though there is no knowledge except of universals. The reason for this is that this contemplation is limited, applies only to the person watching, and reveals only partial personal conditions that cannot be generalized.

Geoffroy said: If we compare our past and our present, we will be able to distinguish the fleeting variable from the permanent constant. . Humanity is present in every human being, and the image of the species is present in every individual, but how do we distinguish the whole that constitutes humanity from the partial that is specific to the individual alone? Would we not be mistaken if we believed what every individual says about himself? Doesn't the definition of humanity differ from person to person? It is different from the generous and learned person than it is from the miserly and ignorant person. And so great is the difference between a man who lived alone and a man who mingled with people and knew their desires and ambitions. So which definition do we prefer and which man do we believe? - All of this leads us to say that the personal method is insufficient, and that we cannot discover the true feeling unless we step outside the circle of observation. 6

Interior, we looked at others

3- Some precautions

It follows from this that we should take internal observations as carefully as possible in order to achieve accuracy and precision. Let us now mention some of these precautions:

1 - Phenomena must be recorded as quickly as possible so that they do not change. He also likes to doubt every internal note that was not written down quickly. An example of this is that remembering accidents is likely
To change a lot, as indicated by the experiments of Stone, Cla Bared, and Borst in testimonies, Foucault's experiments in dreams, and Philippe's experiments in recording mental images.

2 - The internal observations that others bring to us must be carefully and scientifically criticized. Similar to historians’ criticism of documents and testimonies (such as criticism of authenticity, criticism of interpretation, and criticism of narratives).

3 - If we want to study the psychological phenomena that take place in the souls of others, we should not rely on how they describe themselves, but rather we should try to notice that in our own souls as well.

Finally, the psychological researcher must avoid self-suggestion when observing himself, just as he must avoid suggesting it to others when observing others. Experience has shown that falling into self-suggestion when fulfilling one of the hypotheses is very easy. It is necessary, therefore, to avoid suggestibility that the investigation be conducted under conditions in which the observer is ignorant of the expected results. Whether the scientist observes himself or uses the observation of another person, this condition is necessary. The methods that must be followed to avoid suggestion are many. If the experiment is conducted in a psychological laboratory, the instructions mentioned by Perron and Toulouse in their book Technique de psychologie expérimentale must be followed, and if it is conducted outside psychological laboratories, or as life scientists say, in the open air, the precautions that must be taken differ according to the genius of each experimenter.