Self-Confidence in Psychology and Islamic Ethics: Towards an Interpretive Framework and Its Relation to Trust in God

Abstract

This paper focuses on self-confidence in psychology in both conceptual and empirical ways and investigates the status of self-confidence in Islamic ethics. Five relevant approaches to self-confidence are identified and then comparatively studied in psychology and Islamic ethics. In addition, an attempt is made to present an appropriate framework to build, boost, and improve self-confidence through psychology and to find its relation with Islamic ethics. This is conducted by using the analytical-descriptive method along with library research. The principal elements of Islamic ethics include self-awareness, insight, self-respect, human dignity, positive thinking, optimism, endeavor, will, and being responsible, as well as spiritual and psychological independence. On the other hand, major elements of psychology include pattern, self-belief, self-consciousness, positive self-thought, strong will, positive thinking, self-respect, invincibility, perseverance, objective-centeredness, patience, and acquisition of knowledge. These two approaches have some elements in common, such as self-awareness, knowledge, and experience acquisition, positive thinking, and self-respect. The results show that the God-oriented approach in an ethical framework of self-confidence, the essence of which lies in trust in God, can be distinguished from a psychological approach reflected in behaviorism and pragmatism.