تہذيب کى تعريف: فکرى ابہامات سے اقدارى وضاحت تک

Definition of Civilization: From Intellectual Ambiguities to Value-Based Clarification

Abstract

This article undertakes a comprehensive conceptual, historical, and philosophical examination of civilization by critically analyzing its relationship with culture, values, religion, and social organization. Drawing on classical, modern, and contemporary Western and Eastern scholarship, the study demonstrates that civilization has been variously understood as advanced urban culture, moral and intellectual refinement, social organization, and the transformation of the “natural human” into a cultivated social being. Through engagement with thinkers such as Ernst Cassirer, Albert Schweitzer, and Arthur J. Brodbeck, the article highlights the centrality of values, religion, and ethical purpose in sustaining civilizations and preventing cultural disintegration. It further explores the persistent conceptual ambiguities between culture, civilization, and urbanity, showing how their conflation has led to theoretical confusion in both Western and Muslim intellectual traditions. By tracing the etymology and semantic evolution of civilization—from its Latin roots to its Enlightenment formulations—the study reveals the dominance of material, secular, and individualistic assumptions in modern Western thought, as critically noted by figures such as H. S. Chamberlain. In response to these limitations, the article culminates in a critical appraisal of a newly proposed comprehensive definition by Dr. Tanoli, which conceptualizes civilization as a value-centered, goal-oriented collective mode of thought and action grounded in a clear ideological foundation and oriented toward moral, spiritual, and metaphysical accountability. The study argues that this definition successfully integrates the intellectual, ethical, cultural, practical, and transcendental dimensions of civilization, offering a coherent analytical framework for evaluating the direction, health, and meaningfulness of any civilization.