# The Nature of Human Nature

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> From the Editor's                           (formerly McGraw), author of It's Not
> Your Fault: How Healing Relationships
> Desk                                        Change Your Brain and Can Help You
> Overcome a Painful Past. Analyzing the
> virtual pandemic nature of affective
> JOHN S. HATCHER
> illnesses—particularly depression and
> anxiety disorders—McIlvride discuss-
> es in "Stigma, Depression, and the
> THE NATURE OF HUMAN NATURE                Soul" how these emotional and mental
> problems inhibit our ability to feel that
> We are pleased to present in this issue     we can be a useful part of the com-
> two particularly in-depth articles, one     munity, often largely because of the
> on human nature and a second on the         stigma attached to such debilitating
> affective disorder of depression, both      afflictions, whether overtly or subtly,
> of which are artistically suggested by      by family, friends, and other members
> Keith Mellard's cover art sculpture I       of the community. This widespread
> Think I Am, a clever play on the Car-       attitude of discomfiture, avoidance, or
> tesian proposition "Cogito ergo sum" ("I    even condescension by others is often
> think, therefore I am").                    accompanied by a judgmental stance
> The first article, by highly regard-     that implies the sufferer is spiritually
> ed Bahá'í scholar and philosopher Ian       deficient or simply unwilling to exert
> Kluge, is an overview of the Bahá'í         sufficient willpower to overcome the
> teachings' engagement with one of           challenges of life.
> the most critical and challenging is-           The obvious relationship between
> sues we confront in this life—the           the two articles, then, is that the first
> foundational reality of human exis-         piece gives the reader the opportuni-
> tence. Having worked on this study for      ty to analyze how the essential reality
> over a year, Kluge has devised in "The      of the individual—the human soul
> Bahá'í Philosophy of Human Nature"          and its powers of rational thought,
> a rather comprehensive analysis of the      willpower, memory, and reflection—
> fundamental Bahá'í concept of human         translates these capacities into physi-
> nature, its source, and its operation as    cal action through the intermediary of
> a metaphysical essence. In particular,      the brain, and the second article shows
> he focuses on how the human soul            how this process can be impeded by
> produces physical effects through its       various mental disorders.1 More to
> associative relationship with the phys-
> 1 Regarding this point, the reader
> ical apparatus that is the human brain
> would benefit from viewing the article
> and body.
> "The Beauty of the Human Psyche: The
> The second article in this issue also
> Patterns of Virtues" by Rhett Diessner
> involves a great deal of research and la-
> in our previous issue (vol. 26, no. 4). The
> bor by psychologist Patricia McIlvride
> Journal has also already published some
> 4                   The Journal of Bahá'í Studies 27.1-2 2017
> 
> the point, McIlvride's piece explains         Bahá'í texts providing specific insights
> the need for friends, caregivers, and         into the particulars of this relation-
> the entire community to become bet-           ship and, more precisely, how studying
> ter able to discern when someone is           the relationship itself can help pre-
> suffering from affective disorders so         pare us for the transition to the life to
> that intelligent assistance and comfort       come. Therefore, if some impediment—
> can be offered to support the healing         whether a physical or mental illness—
> process.                                      deters the normal process whereby we
> Without the information that both         chart the course of our lives through
> articles provide, our limited under-          daily reflection, determination, and ac-
> standing of the nature of mental ill-         tion, then we would obviously benefit
> ness and of the appropriate methods           greatly from learning how to remove
> for interacting with those affected by        or otherwise deal with this hindrance.
> it all too often distance individuals            Furthermore, both articles deal
> thus afflicted, causing them to remove        with areas of study that are on the
> themselves from community activities          cutting edge of religious philosophy
> for fear of being stigmatized as being        and science. Where does conscious-
> unspiritual, weak, or simply "differ-         ness reside? Is there such a thing as
> ent." Furthermore, both discussions           free will? Do millions of neurons con-
> are critical to the community at large        struct some illusion whereby we feel
> because each of us is striving to com-        we are in control when, in fact, all our
> prehend exactly how to navigate this          actions may be the result of arbitrary
> physical stage of our existence in or-        neural activity? Is memory resident in
> der best to prepare ourselves for the         the brain? If so, then even if our soul
> life that lies beyond this realm.             continues after the demise of the body,
> For while we may have some fun-           does that mean we lose our recollec-
> damental grasp of the concept of              tion of our earthly existence?
> the soul and how the conscious mind              Similarly complex and challenging
> communicates with the world through           are the study and treatment of emo-
> the intermediary of brain-body asso-          tional and mental disorders. To what
> ciation, we find that there is a virtually    extent are these maladies the result of
> endless supply of information in the          genetics, environment, nutrition, and
> relationships gone awry? The fields
> very insightful articles on the subject of    focused on the study of the brain-
> mental health. See, for example, Michael L.   body relationship, such as psychology
> Penn's "Human Nature and Mental Health:       and psychiatry, are in their infancy as
> A Bahá'í-inspired Perspective" (vol. 25,      regards diagnosing, classifying, and
> nos. 1–2) and Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian's      treating depression, anxiety disorders,
> "Depression: Biological, Psychosocial, and    and other impediments to the pur-
> Spiritual Dimensions and Treatment" (vol.     suit of those goals prescribed in the
> 25, no. 4).                                   Bahá'í teachings for our advancement.
> From the Editor's Desk                             5
> 
> Moreover, the widespread nature of         physical realm, this law is symbolized
> these disorders is demonstrated by the     by the mutual attraction of all matter.
> fact that few among us do not have a       In the metaphysical realm and in our
> friend or family member beset by these     spiritual relationships, it can be dis-
> afflictions and have not observed the      cerned in the affection we have and are
> toll they take on both the sufferer and    exhorted to develop for one another
> the caregivers.                            so that, in time, there will emerge a
> These two articles by Kluge and         global community that will function
> McIlvride thus function as collabora-      like one soul in many bodies and foster
> tive attempts to help us understand        a nurturing environment sufficiently
> several extremely important axioms         infused into the global commonwealth
> about the physical or embryonic stage      that none need feel alone, unloved, or
> of our existence. Both articles indicate   helpless.
> that the intimacy of the associative          Finally, we include two poems,
> connection between the soul and the        both dealing with the examination
> body/brain is not trivial, nor does our    of spiritual beliefs and the effort to
> knowledge of this relationship, how-       understand and apply those beliefs in
> ever sophisticated, guard us against       two distinct contexts. "Shahada," by
> the suffering that is an inherent part     Caitlin Johnson Castelaz, depicts the
> of our mental and physical well-being.     thoughts of a student in a classroom
> In the midst of depression, we can         learning about Islam. "The Fragrance
> pray for the cessation of the darkness     of a Poem" is a very powerful glimpse
> that seems to have enveloped our in-       by Mahvash Sabet of the daily life
> most life, and yet the assurance that      she experiences as a prisoner in Go-
> this malady will have no long-term         hardasht Prison in Iran. We have also
> effect on our essential self does not      included a photograph of a second
> alone ease our pain or bring about in-     sculpture by Keith Mallard, Warrior,
> stantaneous relief.                        which seems extremely apropos of the
> Implicit in both articles is an at-     article by McIlvride that follows it.
> tempt to understand human nature
> not only at the level of the individual,
> but also, importantly, at the level of
> community, because as human beings,
> we are inherently and inextricably
> social beings. In this sense, our indi-
> vidual and collective objectives are in
> concert because the entirety of our
> existence, whether in this realm or the
> next, is governed by what 'Abdu'l-Bahá
> describes as the law of love, the orga-
> nizing force of the universe. In the
>
> — *The Nature of Human Nature (Used by permission of the curator)*