Segregation of the different departments of human activity into separate water-tight compartments creates what the psychologists call disintegration in the social order and dissociation in the human personality.
As regards disintegration of human social order, there is an underlying urge in human social ethos for unity and coordination. Now, wherever there is no comprehensive outlook or wherever spirituality is not considered as the highest value, as is the case with the West, the material aspect of life becomes the regulative principle and thus materialism becomes be-all and end-all of life. And this has been the consequence in the West where segmentation of knowledge and fragmentation of life has led to Secularism and Secularism has led to Materialism and Materialism is leading to disaster.
As regards dissociation in human personality, namely, the personality of the individual, this dissociation creates, according to psychology, disharmony of functions, and disharmony of functions creates Neurosis and Neurosis in its turn increases the incidence of crimes, including suicide. And this has been the consequence in the West, where a large section of the adult population suffers from Neurosis, and the percentage of lunatics and criminals is the highest in the most advanced countries of the western world. The situation is getting worse day by day, and the reason is not far to seek. When the human personality is divided into segments and each segment is treated individually, very naturally the physical segment of personality becomes the centre of human love, because this physical segment is the closest in human experience. And when the physical segment becomes the centre of love the acquisition of the maximum amount of physical sensuous pleasure becomes the highest ideal of human life. And because this ideal cannot be achieved without damaging other aspects of one’s personality and injuring the interests of others, crimes multiply at a rapid price and suicide increases among those for whom life becomes stale.
Hence the western world stands today, because of Secularism, on the horns of a dilemma, or between the evil and the deep sea. This is the opinion that has been voiced, with all the vehemence at their command, by the greatest modern philosopher of history, Arnold J. Toynbee, and his great predecessor, Sprengler.
[Islam And Western Civilization by Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman Ansari, p. 5-6]
