Dr. Edmond Melhem – Novel Ideas Part I

“It is often said that creative people are ‘devoted to their work’.[1] That is, they are highly motivated, and this motivation sets them apart from others. Put simply, “if someone is devoted to their life’s work, greater productivity is more likely.”[2] Antun Sa’adeh was deeply committed to knowledge, dedicated to finding creative solutions to his nation’s problems and offering his people a better life. His thirst for knowledge drove him to be so prolific throughout his life while working under pressure and coping with overriding adversities in an increasingly uncertain environment. He left many valuable works on philosophy, religion, politics, literature, art and music. He also left a wealth of essays, articles, stories, speeches, lectures, announcements, communiqués, memoirs and personal letters all of which attest to his wide erudition. His productivity was certainly a product of his genius but was not its fundamental characteristic. His creative mind is evident in his sublime ideas of Syrian nationalism. These novel ideas, or principles, constitute the fundamentals of a deep philosophy concerned with essential issues and form “a point of departure for thought in a certain clear direction in all matters and problems encountered by the Syrian nation.”[3] Thus, Sa´adeh maintains:

These principles are not static statements or lifeless words, nor are they merely coordinated letters. Instead, they constitute an effective, living force from which important fundamental decisions will emanate, and upon which policies will be developed.[4]

Sa´adeh’s creative accomplishments, accordingly, lie in a coherent set of principles, which bring people together irrespective of their religious backgrounds and unite them into a conscious community around a common purpose. They generate among them a true national spirit and inspire them to believe in their creative potentialities and to assume control of their lives. Thus, Sa´adeh emphasizes: “Nationalism is nothing but the confidence of the people in their selves and the reliance of the nation upon itself.”[5]

_{[1] Jane Piirto, Understanding Those Who Create, 2nd edition, Scottsdale, AZ: Gifted Psychology Press, 1998, p. 236.}

_{[2] Ibid.}

_{[3] Antun Sa´adeh, Al-Muhadarat al-’Ashr (The Ten Lectures), op. cit., p. 61.}

_{[4] Ibid., p. 62.}

_{[5] Ibid., p. 33.}