Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

Interdisciplinarity and the Secularization Theorem

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Author

Morteza Bahrani

Associate Professor of Political Thought, Institute for Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS), Tehran, Iran

10.22035/isih.2026.5770.5317
Abstract
Interdisciplinary research and education are legitimate only within a sphere that has affirmed the legitimacy of the modern age. One indication is a functional rupture with traditional forms of knowledge. The question is whether interdisciplinarity in Iran have fulfilled such a condition. It appears that two decades of interdisciplinary contributions in Iran still remain distant from the functions emerging from rupture. An examination of works that take interdisciplinarity itself as their subject, as well as works that discuss various subjects through an interdisciplinary approach, demonstrates that their authors maintain a continuity-oriented will toward tradition and the past. The resistance of Iranian writers and researchers to rupture with the past may be discussed under the category referred to as the secularization theorem. This theorem assumes that modern consciousness is the secularized form of ancient Christian or pagan consciousness. Iranian authors likewise, generally within the framework of the same theorem, seek to bring about an indigenous modernity through the rereading, transmission, and transformation of tradition. One sign of the failure of this mode of contribution is precisely the interdisciplinary arrangement of knowledge in Iran. Through a concise analysis of the secularization theorem by way of explaining the categories of substance/function and continuity/rupture, this article elucidates the pathology of continuity-oriented essentialism in the articles published in the Quarterly Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. It then, by focusing on one rupture-oriented article among them, prepares the ground for further discussions. Without continuity being called into question, and without a will toward rupture from the essences of tradition, neither the disciplinary system of knowledge nor the interdisciplinary system can fulfill their proper function.

Keywords

function
continuity
dis-continuity
progress
tradition
modernity
improvement of life
Subjects
Adamiyat, F. (1977). Andiše-ye taraqqi va hokumat-e qānun [The Idea of Progress and the Rule of Law]. Tehran, Iran: Khwarazmi Publishing. [In Persian]
Akhundzadeh, M. F. (1978). Alefbā-ye jadīd va maktūbāt [The New Alphabet and Writings] (H. Mohammadzadeh, Ed.). Tabriz, Iran: Ehya Publications. [In Persian]
Akhundzadeh, M. F. (1978). Naqd-e Mostašārod-Dowleh [Critique of Mostashar al-Dowleh]. Tehran, Iran: (publisher unknown). [In Persian]
Alavipour, S. M., & Nematpour, A. (2009). The Psycho-political: Erich Fromm and the Crisis in Modern Society. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 1(3), 141-167. doi: https://doi.org/10.7508/isih.2009.03.007
Aubes, J. (2020). Elāhiyyāt-e siāsi-ye Pūlus [The Political Theology of Paul] (Z. Ebrahimi, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Daman. [In Persian]
Bahrani, M. (2019). A theory of interdisciplinarity; Introduction and report of a research. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 12(1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.22035/isih.2020.3738.3899
Blumenberg, H. (2015). Interdisciplinarity as repetition of protohistory. In The laughter of the Thracian woman: A protohistory of theory (S. Hawkins, Trans., pp. 130–132). Bloomsbury Academic. (Original work published 1987)
Blumenberg, H. (2021). Mashrūʿiyyat-e ʿasr-e jadīd [The Legitimacy of the Modern Age] (Z. Ebrahimi, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Pāygāh-e Rūzgār-e Now. [In Persian]
Blumenberg, H. (2022). The readability of the world (R. Savage & D. Roberts, Trans.). Cornell University Press. (Original work published 1981)
Blumenberg, H. (2024). Mafhūm-e vāqeʿiyyat [The Concept of Reality] (M. Bahrani, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Qasideh-Sara. [In Persian].
Cassirer, E. (1953). Substance and function and Einstein's theory of relativity. Dover Publications. (Original work published 1923)
Darzi,G . (2018). Metaphor and interdisciplinarity: Explaining the metaphors application in the interdisciplinary research. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 10(2), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.22035/isih.2018.277
Freud, S. (2025). Tamaddon va malālat-hāyeš [Civilization and Its Discontents] (M. Mobasheri, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Māhī. [In Persian]
Javedani, H., & Tofighi, J. (2010). The Structures, Process and Effective Factors in Developing Interdisciplinarity. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 2(1), 37-56. https://doi.org/10.7508/isih.2010.05.002
Kermani, M. A. (2000). Se maktub [Three Letters] (B. Choubineh, Ed.). Tehran, Iran: Vima Volgar Publications. [In Persian].
Khorsandi Taskooh, A. (2009). Variety of Typologies in Interdisciplinary Education. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 1(4), 57-83. https://doi.org/10.7508/isih.2009.04.003
Khosrowpanah, A. (2009). Gate-keeping Theory, a Method to Discover Interdisciplinary Sciences. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 1(1), 57-76. https://doi.org/10.7508/isih.2009.01.004
Kroll, J. P. (2020). Pāyān-e bashari-ye tārīkh [The End of Human History] (Z. Ebrahimi, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Pāgāh-e Rūzgār-e Now. [In Persian]
Löwith, K. (2021). Maʿnā dar tārīx [Meaning in History] (Trans. Z. Ebrahimi). Tehran, Iran: Elmī Farhangī.
Malkum Khān, M. (2002). Risāleh-hā [Treatises] (H. Asīl, Ed.). Tehran, Iran: Nashr-e Ney. [In Persian]
Mehrmohammadi, M. (2009). Key Consideration on the Policy Making for Interdisciplinary Sciences in Higher Education from the Standpoint of Development Process. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 1(3), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.7508/isih.2009.03.001
Mostashar al-Dowleh, Yusof Khan (n.d). Yak kalameh [A Word] (S. Sajjadi, Ed.). Tehran, Iran: Nashr-e Tārīx. (Original work published 1985) [In Persian]
Moṭahari Ṭabāṭabā’ī, M. (n.d.). Majmūʿe-ye āsār-e Mīrzā Malkam Xān [Collected Works of Mirza Malkam Khan]. Tehran, Iran: Entešārāt-e ʿElmī.
Motahhari, M. (1986). Khedmāt-e Motaqābel-e Eslām va Īrān [Mutual Services of Islam and Iran]. Tehran, Iran: Sadra. [In Persian]
Motamedi, A., Yamani Doozi Sorkhabi, M., Khorsandi Taskoh, A., & Arefi, M. (2018). The Evolution of the Typology of Interdisciplinary Research: A Historical-genealogical Study. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 11(1), 1-32. https://doi.org/10.22035/isih.2019.2929.3266
Pakatchi, A. (2009). Linguistic Requisites of Interdisciplinary Studies. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 1(1), 111-135. https://doi.org/10.7508/isih.2009.01.007
Schmitt, C. (1985). Political theology: Four chapters on the concept of sovereignty (G. Schwab, Trans.). The MIT Press. (Original work published 1922)
Talebof, A. R. (1893). Kitāb-e Aḥmad (Safīna-ye Ṭālebī) [The Book of Ahmad]. Istanbul: Akhtar Press. [In Persian]
Voegelin, E. (2024). ʿElm, siyāsat va gnōsīsm [Science, Politics and Gnosticism] (A. Salgi, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: Pileh. [In Persian]
Yamani Doozi Sorkhabi, M. (2016). University Development Planning as an Interdisciplinary Area. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 1(2), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.7508/isih.2009.02.001
Zokaei, M. (2024). Memory policymaking: Issues, disputes, and priorities. Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, 17(1), 77-112. https://doi.org/10.22035/isih.2025.5343.5056
Send comment about this article
Enter Name.
Enter a valid email address.
Enter a vaid affiliation.
Enter comments (At leaset 10 words)
CAPTCHA Image
Enter Security Code Correctly.
Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 23 September 2026

  • Receive Date 09 February 2026
  • Revise Date 22 May 2026
  • Accept Date 08 June 2026

Home

Editorial Board

Publication Ethics

Reviewers

Submission

Contact Us