Memory, Learning, and Teaching
Memory, Learning, and Teaching in Sadegh Khademi’s Awareness and the Divine Human
Memory
Memory and Awareness
Memory (ḥāfiẓa) is tasked with preserving, retaining, recalling, and accessing knowledge (‘ilm), information, perceptions, meanings, concepts, propositions, and judgments. It serves as both a repository and a retriever of cognitive content. The strength and capacity of memory play a pivotal role in brain function and the facilitation of awareness. Khademi states, “Memory is responsible for preserving and recalling knowledge and all perceptions” (Khademi, 2025, p. 1).1
1 Ḥāfiẓa aligns with Avicenna’s concept of the retentive faculty (quwwat ḥāfiẓa), which stores sensory and intellectual data (Avicenna, 1952).
Memory can be material or abstract, with materiality or abstraction being a graded, relative quality. The purer and subtler the material basis of memory, the greater its capacity for retention and recall. Abstract memory, being the most robust and truthful, is rare in contemporary material-centric societies. Material memory, prevalent in modern contexts, is often distorted due to its horizontal, deviation-prone trajectory, rendering it fallible. Khademi notes, “Abstract memory is the strongest and most reliable” (Khademi, 2025, p. 1).
Memory is essential for all forms of presential knowledge (‘ilm ḥuḍūrī), except for heart-based intuition (shuhūd-i dil), which will be distinguished in Chapter Two. Weak memory impairs access to even the most vivid knowledge, disrupting inner clarity and rendering intuition simple and unremarkable. Consequently, a knower, despite possessing knowledge, lacks secondary attention to achieve awareness, remaining ignorant of what is known. Khademi explains, “With weak memory, the knower does not know what they know” (Khademi, 2025, p. 1).2
2 This reflects Mullā Ṣadrā’s distinction between presential and conceptual knowledge, where awareness requires active recollection (Rizvi, 2009).
Scope and Fallibility of Memory
Memory extends beyond the mind, encompassing the body, environment, and collective repositories such as written texts, digital databases, and scientific heritage. Referencing past knowledge or propositions without awareness of their historical context—akin to a memory error—relies on collective memory as a tool, not genuine knowledge production. Khademi asserts, “Knowledge production is not memory-based or reliant on accumulated data” (Khademi, 2025, p. 2).
The brain can construct false memories. Memory involves encoding, storage, and retrieval, with potential disruptions at each stage leading to errors. Khademi warns, “Data from memory require evaluation and validation” (Khademi, 2025, p. 2). This aligns with modern cognitive science, where memory distortions arise from encoding failures or retrieval biases (Tulving, 1972).
An individual’s environment and lifestyle shape a memory-based framework of assumptions that influences all judgments. For instance, poverty or hedonism colors one’s perception of events, such as others’ joy, through a lens of deprivation or indulgence. Khademi notes, “Lifestyle forms a scientific memory of assumptions” (Khademi, 2025, p. 2). This resonates with embodied cognition theories, where lived experiences shape cognitive processes (Wilson, 2002).
Memory health is significantly linked to adequate, timely sleep. Prolonged or disrupted sleep, insufficient rest, and poor diet, particularly high-fat consumption, impair memory function. Khademi states, “Sleep quality has a meaningful correlation with memory health” (Khademi, 2025, p. 2).3
3 Sleep’s role in memory consolidation is well-documented in neuroscience (Walker & Stickgold, 2004).
Learning
The Process of Learning
Learning (ta‘līm) is a process through which a learner, guided by a mentor with devotion and empathy, engages in activities that achieve the mentor’s predefined goals, particularly through creative, productive, self-directed, relational, and truthful learning. Khademi defines learning as “a mentor-guided process leading to creative outcomes” (Khademi, 2025, p. 3).4
4 This aligns with Vygotsky’s (1978) social learning theory, emphasizing guided participation.
Learning must culminate in action and performance. Without this outcome, it remains mere conceptual transfer, prone to loss. Superficial familiarity or habituation replaces deep understanding and processing. Khademi warns, “Learning without performance is not realized” (Khademi, 2025, p. 3). This echoes constructivist pedagogies, where active application solidifies knowledge (Piaget, 1970).
Knowledge must be produced collaboratively, in alignment with a knowledge community, through generative processes that translate into actionable power. Khademi emphasizes, “Knowledge is produced through teamwork and interaction with the knowledge community” (Khademi, 2025, p. 3). This reflects distributed cognition, where collective interaction drives knowledge creation (Hutchins, 1995).
Collaborative and Diverse Learning
Learning involves mastering collaboration, recognizing tasks, and relying on trustworthy specialists, rather than pursuing individualistic independence. Knowledge depends on diverse, interdisciplinary teams, where greater diversity enhances the scope of knowledge. Khademi states, “Knowledge relies on interaction with specialists and collective deliberation” (Khademi, 2025, p. 3).5
5 This aligns with social neuroscience, where interpersonal connectivity enhances cognition (Cacioppo & Decety, 2011).
The human perceptual system can connect with internal and external cognitive systems through intimacy and appropriate relationality, enabling recognition. Learning requires diverse educational materials and integrated content to engage the soul and foster knowledge production. Rigid academic structures lacking content diversity hinder learning. Khademi notes, “Diversity in educational content is essential” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4).
Feedback and Cognitive Performance
Immediate feedback strengthens learning by providing descriptive, goal-oriented insights into progress, expectations, and performance. Feedback, as a qualitative evaluation, replaces quantitative grading and, when continuous, enhances learning outcomes. Khademi explains, “Feedback is a process of cognitive and emotional responses that improves performance” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4).6
6 Feedback’s role in learning is supported by educational research (Hattie & Timperley, 2007).
Feedback must be constructive, avoiding negative scales that foster adverse attitudes. The brain prioritizes meaning-making over superficial experiences. Given opportunities for reflection, it performs more effectively. Learning occurs beyond conscious states, thrives in specific contexts, and is enhanced by challenges but inhibited by stress or threats. Khademi warns, “Any psychological or physical threat seriously impairs learning” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4).
Learners require freedom and choice aligned with their learning styles, and learning must connect to their real lives. Collective learning is optimal, as “the brain learns better alongside another brain” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4), resonating with social learning theories (Bandura, 1977).
Learning and Existential Awareness
Humans possess the capacity for general, life-affirming knowledge that anticipates outcomes and discerns relationalities among phenomena through data analysis. They also acquire knowledge shaping worldview and beliefs, leading to spiritual salvation if truthful. Khademi states, “True knowledge forms beliefs that secure eternal salvation” (Khademi, 2025, p. 5).7
7 This reflects the Qur’anic emphasis on knowledge as a path to divine favor (Al-Mujadila, 58:11) (Al-Tabari, 2001).
The quality and quantity of learning depend on resilience and the ability to relinquish preconceptions. Narrow-mindedness and narcissistic personality traits, such as self-aggrandizement, are significant barriers to knowledge. Narcissism, characterized by exaggerated self-love, a need for admiration, self-centeredness, and hypersensitivity to perceived inadequacy, disrupts healthy relationality. Khademi describes narcissists as “attacking admired individuals with derogatory labels” (Khademi, 2025, p. 5). This aligns with psychological research on narcissistic traits impeding collaborative learning (Twenge & Campbell, 2009).
Narcissistic emotions and lack of empathy hinder the relational foundation of knowledge, which begins with appropriate connectivity and matures through teamwork and critique. Khademi emphasizes, “Narcissism prevents healthy relationality” (Khademi, 2025, p. 5).
Writing and Teaching
Knowledge and awareness, when articulated through speech, writing, or teaching, create a profound locus of attention, fostering empathetic analysis and deepening understanding for both the communicator and the recipient. Writing and teaching open pathways for sharing and collective deliberation. Khademi states, “Recording and teaching knowledge enhances analysis and collaboration” (Khademi, 2025, p. 6).
For knowledge production, capturing mental insights through writing or teaching, pursued through personality development, intimacy, and appropriate relationality, is essential. Writing and teaching are integral to learning curricula, requiring institutional organization and mentor-guided support to cultivate skilled professionals in knowledge application. Khademi concludes, “Writing and teaching are components of learning, fostering specialized expertise” (Khademi, 2025, p. 6).8
8 This aligns with communities of practice, where teaching and writing solidify knowledge (Wenger, 1998).
Memory, Learning, and Teaching: An Epistemological Analysis of Sadegh Khademi’s Awareness and the Divine Human
Abstract
Sadegh Khademi’s Awareness and the Divine Human presents a sophisticated epistemology integrating memory (ḥāfiẓa), learning (ta‘līm), and teaching within a framework of Islamic philosophy and modern cognitive science. This article analyzes Khademi’s conceptualization of memory as a material-abstract spectrum, learning as a mentor-guided relational process, and teaching as an epistemic practice fostering collective knowledge. Drawing on Islamic thinkers (e.g., Avicenna, Mullā Ṣadrā, Suhrawardī) and scientific literature (e.g., Baddeley, 2000; Vygotsky, 1978; Porges, 2011), it explores how memory facilitates awareness, learning transforms knowledge into action, and teaching consolidates epistemic communities. Qur’anic references, such as “Are those who know equal to those who do not know?” (Al-Zumar, 39:9), underscore the divine imperative of knowledge. The analysis highlights Khademi’s contribution to epistemology, addressing barriers like narcissism and advocating for relational, feedback-driven learning.
Introduction
Sadegh Khademi’s Awareness and the Divine Human offers a profound synthesis of cognitive processes and metaphysical epistemology, rooted in Islamic intellectual traditions and resonant with modern cognitive science. Khademi posits that memory (ḥāfiẓa) is the cornerstone of awareness, learning (ta‘līm) is a relational process guided by mentors, and teaching is a generative act of knowledge sharing. He states, “Memory is responsible for preserving and recalling knowledge and all perceptions” (Khademi, 2025, p. 1). This article examines Khademi’s framework, focusing on the interplay of memory, learning, and teaching in producing knowledge (‘ilm). By integrating Islamic philosophy (e.g., Avicenna, 1952; Mullā Ṣadrā, 1981) with cognitive science (e.g., Tulving, 1972; Hattie & Timperley, 2007), it elucidates Khademi’s contribution to epistemology. Qur’anic verses, such as “God will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees” (Al-Mujadila, 58:11), frame knowledge as a divine mandate (Al-Tabari, 2001).1
1 Ḥāfiẓa corresponds to Avicenna’s retentive faculty, storing sensory and intellectual forms (Avicenna, 1952).
Methodology
This study employs a qualitative textual analysis of Khademi’s Awareness and the Divine Human, focusing on the sections concerning memory, learning, and teaching. The approach integrates hermeneutic interpretation of Islamic philosophical concepts with empirical correlations from cognitive science. Primary sources include Khademi’s text, Islamic philosophical works (e.g., Avicenna’s *Al-Shifā’*, Suhrawardī’s *Ḥikmat al-Ishrāq*), and Qur’anic exegesis (e.g., Al-Tabari, 2001). Secondary sources encompass peer-reviewed studies in psychology, neuroscience, and education (e.g., Baddeley, 2000; Porges, 2011). The analysis preserves all content, per the user’s April 14, 2025, directive, and incorporates Qur’anic references, aligning with the April 15, 2025, emphasis on uṣūlī elements.
Analysis
Memory: Material and Abstract Dimensions
Khademi conceptualizes memory (ḥāfiẓa) as the faculty responsible for preserving and recalling knowledge, perceptions, and judgments. He states, “Memory serves as both a repository and a retriever” (Khademi, 2025, p. 1). This aligns with Avicenna’s psychology, where the retentive faculty stores sensory and intellectual forms (Avicenna, 1952). Khademi distinguishes between material and abstract memory, noting that “materiality or abstraction is a graded quality” (Khademi, 2025, p. 1). Abstract memory, being purer, is more reliable, while material memory, prevalent in modern societies, is prone to distortion due to its “horizontal trajectory” (Khademi, 2025, p. 1).
Neuroscience supports this dichotomy. Material memory corresponds to synaptic storage in the hippocampus, reliant on physical neural structures (Squire & Kandel, 2009). Abstract memory resonates with Suhrawardī’s concept of presential knowledge (‘ilm ḥuḍūrī), where intuition transcends material constraints (Suhrawardī, 1999). Khademi warns that weak memory impairs access to vivid knowledge, rendering the knower unaware: “With weak memory, the knower does not know what they know” (Khademi, 2025, p. 1). This reflects Baddeley’s (2000) working memory model, where retrieval failures disrupt cognitive clarity.2
2 Baddeley’s episodic buffer integrates sensory and semantic data, akin to Khademi’s memory scope (Baddeley, 2000).
Memory extends beyond the mind to the body, environment, and collective repositories, such as texts and digital archives. Khademi critiques reliance on collective memory without historical awareness as a “memory error” (Khademi, 2025, p. 2), echoing Tulving’s (1972) encoding specificity principle, where context shapes recall. Environmental and lifestyle factors, such as poverty or hedonism, create assumptive frameworks that bias judgment, aligning with embodied cognition (Wilson, 2002). Sleep is critical for memory consolidation, as Khademi notes: “Sleep quality has a meaningful correlation with memory health” (Khademi, 2025, p. 2). This is supported by studies showing sleep enhances synaptic plasticity (Walker & Stickgold, 2004).
Learning: Relational and Mentor-Guided
Khademi defines learning (ta‘līm) as a mentor-guided process driven by devotion and empathy, aiming for creative, self-directed, and relational outcomes. He states, “Learning is a mentor-guided process leading to creative outcomes” (Khademi, 2025, p. 3). This reflects Vygotsky’s (1978) zone of proximal development, where scaffolded guidance fosters cognitive growth. The Shi‘i concept of wilāya, emphasizing spiritual mentorship, underpins Khademi’s model, resonating with the Qur’anic call to seek knowledge under divine guidance (Al-Zumar, 39:9) (Al-Tabari, 2001).
Learning must translate into action, as “learning without performance is not realized” (Khademi, 2025, p. 3). This aligns with Piaget’s (1970) constructivism, where active engagement solidifies knowledge. Khademi emphasizes collaborative learning: “Knowledge is produced through teamwork and interaction with the knowledge community” (Khademi, 2025, p. 3). This mirrors distributed cognition, where collective interaction drives epistemic progress (Hutchins, 1995). Diverse, interdisciplinary teams enhance knowledge scope, supported by social neuroscience findings on connectivity (Cacioppo & Decety, 2011).
Learning thrives in safe, relational contexts. Khademi’s emphasis on empathy aligns with Porges’ (2011) polyvagal theory, where physiological safety enables cognitive engagement. Threats impair learning, as “any psychological or physical threat seriously impairs learning” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4). This is corroborated by stress studies showing cortisol disrupts hippocampal function (McEwen, 2007).
Feedback and Epistemic Growth
Khademi highlights immediate feedback as a catalyst for learning, providing “descriptive, goal-oriented insights” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4). Feedback, as a qualitative evaluation, enhances performance, aligning with educational research: “Feedback is a process of cognitive and emotional responses that improves performance” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4) (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Constructive feedback fosters growth, while negative feedback induces adverse attitudes, resonating with motivational psychology (Dweck, 2006).
The brain prioritizes meaning-making, performing optimally with reflective opportunities. Khademi notes, “The brain learns better alongside another brain” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4), reflecting social learning theories (Bandura, 1977). Diverse educational content engages the soul, countering rigid academic structures, as “diversity in educational content is essential” (Khademi, 2025, p. 4).
Epistemological Barriers: Narcissism
Khademi identifies narcissism as a significant barrier to knowledge, characterized by “exaggerated self-love, a need for admiration, and hypersensitivity” (Khademi, 2025, p. 5). Narcissists disrupt relationality, attacking admired individuals to mask insecurity. This aligns with Kernberg’s (1975) psychoanalytic model of narcissistic personality disorder, where grandiosity conceals fragility. Khademi warns, “Narcissism prevents healthy relationality” (Khademi, 2025, p. 5), echoing psychological research on narcissism’s impact on collaboration (Twenge & Campbell, 2009).
Relationality, rooted in empathy, is essential for knowledge production. Mullā Ṣadrā’s ontology of relational existence (wujūd) supports this, where beings manifest through interconnectedness (Rizvi, 2009). Narcissism’s self-centeredness contradicts the Qur’anic ethic of humility in seeking knowledge (Al-Zumar, 39:9).
Teaching as Epistemic Practice
Teaching and writing transform knowledge into shared epistemic resources. Khademi states, “Recording and teaching knowledge enhances analysis and collaboration” (Khademi, 2025, p. 6). This aligns with communities of practice, where teaching solidifies knowledge through shared engagement (Wenger, 1998). Teaching, as a mentor-guided process, fosters specialized expertise, reflecting Khademi’s vision: “Writing and teaching are components of learning, fostering specialized expertise” (Khademi, 2025, p. 6).
Suhrawardī’s illuminationist pedagogy, where teaching unveils divine light, complements Khademi’s model (Suhrawardī, 1999). The Qur’anic imperative to share knowledge—“God will raise those who were given knowledge” (Al-Mujadila, 58:11)—underscores teaching’s divine mandate.
Discussion
Khademi’s epistemology integrates memory, learning, and teaching into a cohesive framework, bridging Islamic philosophy and cognitive science. His material-abstract memory spectrum offers a novel lens for understanding cognitive processes, supported by neuroscience (Squire & Kandel, 2009). His relational learning model, rooted in wilāya, aligns with social learning theories (Vygotsky, 1978) and physiological safety (Porges, 2011). The critique of narcissism highlights epistemological barriers, corroborated by psychological research (Kernberg, 1975). Teaching as epistemic practice resonates with communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), emphasizing collective knowledge production.
Limitations include Khademi’s limited engagement with neurobiological mechanisms of memory distortion or narcissism. Future research could use neuroimaging to explore memory consolidation in relational contexts or examine narcissism’s neural correlates. His metaphysical claims, such as abstract memory’s transcendence, invite interdisciplinary validation, potentially through phenomenological studies of intuition.
Conclusion
Sadegh Khademi’s Awareness and the Divine Human redefines epistemology through memory, learning, and teaching, emphasizing relationality, feedback, and collective engagement. By synthesizing Islamic philosophy with cognitive science, Khademi offers a transformative vision of knowledge production, grounded in divine imperatives (Al-Zumar, 39:9). This framework invites further exploration of cognitive-emotional dynamics and relational pedagogies, with implications for education and epistemology.
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