This is a personal reading into Jamal Hamdan’s thoughts and their relationship to my questions about education and engineering. It is not a documentary study of a specific book, and I do not attribute the following statements to it as verbatim quotations.

Introduction

Engineering and scientific development have played a vital role in shaping civilizations throughout history. One thinker has provided an in-depth perspective on this topic in the Egyptian context, the prominent philosopher and geographer Gamal Hamdan. Hamdan has developed a keen understanding of Egypt’s place in the world and the challenges and opportunities facing its progress. This post discusses Hamdan’s views regarding engineering sciences in Egypt, including his philosophical approach, his views on problems and solutions, and his concept of balanced perspective.

Hamdan’s philosophical approach

Hamdan took a holistic approach to knowledge, seeing academic pursuit not only as a collection of facts but as a means to discover deeper truths and promote justice. His works attempted to understand reality in a profound and transformative way, by analyzing prevailing perspectives with constructive criticism rather than accepting them as taken-for-granted truths. For Hamdan, the research tools were a means to achieve philosophical and practical purposes, not ends in themselves. This is what distinguished his approach from the model focused on producing academic works without a useful purpose.

Challenges facing scientific development

Hamdan acknowledged several challenges hindering scientific progress in Egypt. Among them is the scarcity of sustainable funding for research. Education systems focus on memorization without critical thinking. Narrow patriotism has also distorted history in a way that weakens cultural identities such as Arabism. Moreover, the overly practical focus of decision makers fails to appreciate the role of philosophy in guiding the social mission. In general, Hamdan saw that potential is being wasted due to scarcity of resources, rigid minds, and insufficient focus on long-term visions.

Striving to adopt balanced perspectives

Hamdan called for adopting balanced and nuanced perspectives that recognize diversity within unity. He saw Egypt as having distinct and complementary relations with multiple civilizational circles - Arab, Islamic, and African. Instead of homogeneity, he saw the value of recognizing the specificity of each episode while preserving Alawite solidarities. It also envisions Islamic unity by respecting the diversity of Islamic communities through flexible cooperation, not a strict structure. Hamdan also emphasized the interdependence between the material and spiritual dimensions of culture.

Evaluation of Hamdan’s legacy

Although ahead of the curve in many respects, Hamdan faced some limitations in fully realizing his ideas. The priorities of the bureaucracy in the post-revolutionary period differed from its original humanitarian mission. But Hamdan left a deep mark, as he expressed that Egypt was confident in its diverse identities, and called on leaders for long-term intellectual planning rather than short-term operational ones. His balanced perspectives remain relevant in confronting the challenges of Egypt’s progress in a thoughtful and comprehensive manner