Global Loneliness and the State of Human Mental Health: How Religion Can Promote Friendship as a Paradigm ofPeace in Post-Modernity

In spite of all expectations that modern technologies ofcommunication and the worldwide access to the virtual world willfacilitate human relations, it seems that contemporary societiesare experiencing deep loneliness with proven mental side effectsand disorders. The appointment of the first Minister of Lonelinessin Britain in the January of 2018 has signaled that there is anurgent global need to address the increasing human loneliness andlook for remedies through effective policy making. One logicalremedy seems to be promoting friendship in various culturalframeworks. This paper suggests that, based on several normativeelements, Islamic tradition may offer practical measures that caninstitutionalize friendship and advance human relations beyondspecific cultural or political borders.

کلیدواژه ها:

Loneliness ، Mental Health ، Friendship ، Islamic Ethics ، Forgiveness ، Forgetting ، Intimacy