Concept, Subject, Origin and Types of Alienation in Ali Shariati’s Notion and Thought

Bozorgi, Seyyed Abedin; Hassanpour, Mohammad Mohsen; Mohseni – Tabrizi, Alireza

doi:10.22059/jstmt.2025.388985.1768

Document Type : Research Article / Original Article

Authors

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Ahlul Bayt International University, Tehran, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Social Communication Sciences, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Ahlul Bayt International University, Tehran, Iran.

³ Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22059/jstmt.2025.388985.1768

Abstract

This study examines Ali Shariati’s conception of alienation, focusing on its meaning, subject, origins, causes, types, and the theoretical framework through which he explains both alienation and de-alienation. Employing qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis, the research draws on seven of Shariati’s major works. Data were analyzed using the three-stage coding procedure proposed by Strauss and Corbin (open, axial, and selective coding). The analysis resulted in the identification of seven core themes: (1) alienation, (2) the alienated individual, (3) the subject of alienation, (4) the causes of alienation, (5) types of alienation, (6) alienation as an imposed or self-chosen phenomenon, and (7) de-alienation. Interpretation of these themes indicates that Shariati deliberately narrows the broad, global notion of alienation to the more specific concept of self-alienation. In this condition, the individual experiences the self as an “other,” loses self-consciousness, and lives under a false and fabricated identity. Shariati conceptualizes alienation as the outcome of a dialectical relationship between the individual and society. He argues that assimilation, alienation, imitation, and corruption are dialectically intertwined processes that may ultimately lead to self-consciousness, awareness, and the rebirth of the authentic self. Regarding the origins of alienation, Shariati refers to factors such as labor and the means of production, colonialism, imitation, bureaucracy, machinery, money, sophistry, and distorted forms of love. Together, these forces estrange human beings from their original selves and generate multiple forms of alienation. For Shariati, the ultimate solution lies in returning to the authentic self and overcoming self-alienation.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Rereading and interpreting the ideas of leading Muslim thinkers

References

Bell, D. (1966). Sociodicy to modern usage. American Scholar, 35(4), 696–714.

Bell, D. (1976). The cultural contradictions of capitalism. Basic Books.

Denzin, N. K. (2005). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Dollard, J. (1937). Frustration and aggression. Yale University Press.

Durkheim, E. (1994). The division of labor in society. (B. Parham, Trans.). Nashr-e Markaz [in Persian].

Erickson, E. (1968). Identity, youth and crisis. W. W. Norton & Company.

Feuer, L. (1962). What is alienation? The career of a concept. New Politics, 1, 130.

Feuerliecht, I. (1978). Alienation: From past to future. Greenwood Press.

Flacks, K. (1973). Social and cultural meaning of student revolt. Social Problems, 17(2), 340-357.

Freud, S. (1961). Civilization and its discontents. W. W. Norton & Company.

Friedenberg, E. (1983). Coming of age in America: Growth and acquiescence. Transaction Publishers.

Fromm, E. (1941). Escape from freedom. Henry Holt and Company.

Fromm, E. (1969). Marx's concept of man. Frederick Ungar Publishing.

Giddens, A. (1984). Hermeneutics and social theory. In G. Shapiro & A. Sica (Eds.), Hermeneutics: Questions and prospects (pp. 248–254). University of Massachusetts

Goodman, P. (1960). Growing up absurd: Problems of youth in the organized system. Random House.

Hall, E. T. (1986). Foreword. In J. Collier & M. Colier (Eds.), Visual anthropology: Photography as a research method. University of New Mexico Press.

Horney, K. (1950). Neurosis and human growth: The struggle toward self-realization. W. W. Norton & Company.

Iqbal, M. (2020). The secrets of the self. Library of Alexandria.

Jaspers, K. (1956). Philosophy. Springer.

Johnson, F. (1973). Alienation: Concept, term, and meaning. Seminar Press.

Kahler, E. (1957). The tower and the abbeys. George Braziller.

Kahler, E. (1971). Alienation and economics. George Braziller.

Keniston, K. (1965). The uncommitted. Harcourt, Brace & World.

Levin, M. (1960). The alienated voter: Politics in Boston. Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Lukacs, G. (1971). History and class consciousness: Studies in Marxist dialectics. Merlin Press.

Marcuse, H. (1964). One-dimensional man: Studies in the ideology of advanced industrial society. Beacon Press.

Marx, K. (1964). Selected writings in sociology and social philosophy. McGraw-Hill.

Mead, G. H. (2021). Mind, self, and society. (M. Saffar, Trans.). SAMT [in Persian].

Merton, R. K. (1959). Social theory and social structure. Free Press.

Meszaros, I. (1988). Marx's theory of alienation. Merlin Press.

Mills, C. W. (1951). White collar: The American middle classes. Oxford University Press.

Mitchell, J. C. (1988). Theoretical orientation in African urban studies. In M. Bauton (Ed.), The social anthropology of complex societies. Routledge.

Mohseni Tabrizi, A. (1984). Two faces of alienation; A study of Iranian students’ activism and passivity in American universities. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Western Michigan University.

Mohseni Tabrizi, A. (1991). Alienation: Conceptualization and classification of theories in sociological and psychological schools of thought. Journal of Social Sciences, 2(2), 25-73. [in Persian].

Petrovic, G. (1967). Alienation. In P. Edwards (Ed.).

Riesman, D. (1950). The lonely crowd: A study of the changing American character. Yale University Press.

Sartre, J.-P. (1974). Between existentialism and Marxism. William Morrow and Company.

Seal, C., Gobo, G., Gubrium, J., & Silerman, D. (2004). Qualitative research practice. SAGE Publications.

Seaman, M. (1971). Alienation. Psychology Today, 5, 483.

Shariati, A. (1977). Revolutionary self-building (Collected works 2). Hosseinieh Ershad [in Persian].

Shariati, A. (1982). Empty man (Collected works 25). Ghalam Publications [in Persian].

Shariati, A. (1989). Re-identification of Iranian identity (Collected works 18). Nashr Publications [in Persian].

Shariati, A. (1993). Various works (Collected works 35). Agah Publications [in Persian].

Shariati, A. (1997). Features of the new centuries (Collected works 31). Papakhsh Publications [in Persian].

Shariati, A. (2003). Worldview and ideology (Collected works 23). Khaneh-ye Novandishan Publications [in Persian].

Shariati, A. (2007). Return (Collected works 4). Elham Publications [in Persian].

Simmel, G. (1965). Essays on sociology, philosophy, and aesthetics. Harper.

Soroush, A. (1987). Alienation and return to self. Cultural Supplement, (6), 16. [in Persian].

Taylor, I. (1973). The new criminology: For a social theory of deviance. Routledge.

Social Theories of Muslim Thinkers

Concept, Subject, Origin and Types of Alienation in Ali Shariati’s Notion and Thought

References

References

Volume 15, Issue 4
December 2025
Pages 161-182

Concept, Subject, Origin and Types of Alienation in Ali Shariati’s Notion and Thought

References

References

Volume 15, Issue 4December 2025Pages 161-182

Volume 15, Issue 4
December 2025
Pages 161-182