At the age of 15 Sadik Al-Azm knew already that he was going to study philosophy. When asked why he became particularly interested in the critical philosophy of Immanuel Kant he answered that it was a key to understanding where the West gained its momentum from.

Anyone observing the West from the outside cannot avoid asking themselves the question, in view of the knowledge, the abilities and the resulting power, what makes the West tick?

Arab philosophy had not yet been dealt with through critical philosophy and instrumental reason. Therefore it was necessary to borrow them from Kant. Like many outside the ‚Western world‘, he was in search of instrumental reason, which is why the weapons of the critical analyst had been welcome to him: “Because those Muslim societies that refuse to participate seriously and consciously in the discussion will, more than ever before, find themselves on the margins of modern history”.

According to Al-Azm, the Arab world is in a phase that corresponds to the Europe of the 18th to 19th centuries with regard to this conflict. And it was precisely that Europe that he found his arguments in. In Immanuel Kant he had found an authority for his conviction that world history must ultimately lead to the victory of reason.

Goethe's Gretchen Question:“How Do You Feel About Religion?”

Goethe's Faust and Mephisto's “No” had accompanied him throughout his life, he said. When introducing modernity and the condition of men in modernity to his students in Damascus he used Faust and Mephisto as examples. The critical question for him was: “May I continue to accept traditional beliefs if they do not harmonize with the beliefs I have come to without violating the principle of intellectual integrity?” This circle was closed for him when he was awarded the prestigious Goethe Medal in Weimar in August 2015.

Name the Taboo and Think the Unthinkable

According to Al-Azm's credo, societies must be forced into controversy in order to deal with themselves. Without criticism and self-criticism there could be no progress and no liberation of the individual.