Travelliterature and the values of opennessfrom a philosophicalperspective:(Rifa'a al-Tahtawi as a model)

Abstract

Abstract: There are many means of knowledge and their methods are diverse, and these means differ from time to time and from person to person. Travel or migration is one of these means. Through travel, scholars and writers discovered and became acquainted with the culture of other societies. Travel literature is considered a window through which we can look at the literature and culture of other societies. Rifa'a Rafi' al-Tahtawi is considered a prominent model and a figure of travel literature. Given the importance of al-Tahtawi's writings and the importance of travel literature to him, we wanted through this research to shed light on Arab intellectual contributions to the transmission of Western cultures through influence and being influenced, and to demonstrate the importance of openness to the other, not for the purpose of dissolving into it, but rather to realize the shortcomings of the Arab self and then remedy them, so that it can enter the circle of equality and get rid of the view of inferiority and contempt for ourselves and our culture. We also wanted to show that travel literature is not limited to literary texts only, but rather extends beyond them to different intellectual systems, including the philosophical system, within which the intervention comes.