Analytical Study of Ahmad Kasravi’s Claim of Prophethood based on Adler’s Psychological Theory

Abstract

Ahmad Kasravi was among the thinkers with religious intellectualism tendencies, whose opinions on religion in contemporary Iranian history were among the most controversial ones. According to the Peyman monthly magazine, Kasravi initially expressed his views as a religious reformer and presented a rationalist-based ritual called “Pure Religion” in the guise of a prophet. Kasravi’s personality traits are used to explain his approach in propagating the new religion. The present study aims to assess Kasravi’s claim to be a prophet with an interdisciplinary approach utilizing Adler’s psychological theory and Peyman magazine. Based on Adler’s theory, pampering and suffering from anemia resulted in developing a special personality and creating a sense of inferiority in Kasravi. Kasravi’s successes in historical studies led to a kind of compensation for his inferiority, superiority, and development of his creative self-approach. As this approach intensified and he criticized religious dissenters, an imaginary teleology developed in Kasravi’s mind, leading to his claim to be prophet and presentation of a new religion.