As an interdisciplinary field focusing on the perception, creation, and reception of art, the psychology of art enables the re-reading of literary texts by exploring the interplay between a work’s structure, mental processes, and its sociocultural context. The present study investigates the potential of this approach for a contemporary, multi-dimensional reading of Nahj al-Balagha, assessing the feasibility of analyzing its human, psychological, and artistic dimensions through the lens of the psychology of art. The significance of this research lies in applying contemporary scholarly frameworks to classical and religious texts, thereby moving beyond monolithic, assumption-driven interpretations to establish a more dynamic understanding of the relationships between the text, its author, the audience, and the historical-social milieu. Grounded in Lev Vygotsky’s theory of the psychology of art and integrating both author-oriented and text-oriented perspectives, this study employs a descriptive-analytical method, utilizing historical and comparative techniques within a qualitative hermeneutic framework. The analysis is conducted across three levels—perception, technique, and psychological analysis—with a focus on three core components: sociocultural mediation, inner and outer speech, and the ego. The findings indicate that sociocultural mediation influences the formation of inner speech, which, contingent upon the communicative situation, objectifies itself through outer speech and the artistic structure of the text. Furthermore, the ego—as an outcome of individual and social processes—is observable in the realms of ethics, politics, emotion, and death-awareness, with the moral-social superego playing a decisive role in its formation. Ultimately, by respecting the boundaries of historical and textual evidence, the psychology of art offers an interdisciplinary model for a more comprehensive and coherent reading of Nahj al-Balagha. By prioritizing human dimensions and relying on empirical textual evidence rather than interpretive biases, this approach facilitates the rigorous formulation of hypotheses concerning the personality and experiences reflected in the work.
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
Linguistic research Received: 2026/10/4 | Accepted: 2026/11/9 | Published: 2026/09/1