MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY,

AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING:

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF RISALE-I NUR (RN)
READERS

Necati Aydin
Eron Manusov

Abstract
Since the Enlightenment, particularly in the West, the quest for
happiness has been primarily sought through material consumption.
Although global capitalism has been successful in producing more
wealth, many studies reveal that more wealth and consumption have
not increased human happiness. Muslim scholar, Said Nursi, has
argued that this failure to achieve happiness is due to the adherence
to hedonic and materialist values at the expense of spiritual and
moral values. He links the success of the Islamic exegesis, the
Risale-i Nur (RN) to its novel approach to happiness. The purpose of
this empirical study is to determine whether pleasures of Paradise or
true happiness are more likely attained with a life that focuses on
good deeds, virtues and spirituality. We designed and conducted a
comprehensive internet-based electronic survey among 1523 Risale-i
Nur readers to test Nursi’s argument. The survey was designed to
capture the values/goals of RN readers and their subjective
well-being through over 100 questions. The survey included the
Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Social Well-Being Scale, and the
Aspiration Index as well as additional items that queried three
additional domains of intellectual life, honesty and fairness, and
aesthetical life. The study reveals that the more participants read the
RN, the more they report the value of spirituality, fairness and
honesty, family and friendship, intellectual activities, personal
growth, aesthetics experience, conformity, altruism, and health.
Conversely, the more they read the RN, the less they value hedonic
pleasures, popularity and fame, money and material gains, image
making, and fear and anxiety.

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Introduction
Throughout history, people search for happiness even though the
paths they take vary significantly. Since the Enlightenment,
particularly in the West, the quest for happiness has been mainly
through material consumption. Jeremy Bentham the English jurist,
philosopher, and legal and social reformer stated, “The goal for
human beings is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.” Free
market capitalism provides a calculator to assist people making
estimates toward maximizing their utility through material
consumption. The simple formula for happiness is defined as follows:
the more you consume, the happier you will be. Indeed, the global
market economy based on free market capitalism has been very
successful at producing more wealth and providing more
opportunities for people to consume. However, as will be discussed
later, many studies suggest that more wealth and increased
consumption do not lead to higher levels of human happiness as
promised by capitalism.
Perhaps, the main flaw in the materialistic happiness model is
the perception of wealth, hedonic satisfaction, and sensuous pleasure
being either the sole or the greatest source of happiness. The model
ignores or sometime denies intellectual and spiritual pleasures.
Therefore, those who embrace materialistic values seek happiness
through material possession and consumption instead of spiritual
experience. Paradoxically, an increase in materialism can result in a
decrease in happiness. Once basic needs such as food and shelter are
met, increased wealth has very little impact on happiness.
Well-being, as studied in the West, is often related to intrinsic
not extrinsic values. Unfortunately, there are no similar studies for
Muslim societies.This study will be one of the first of its kind
conducted on Muslim group capturing 15 different domains of their
life experience. The purpose of this study is to determine how
well-being is related to materialistic, hedonic and moral values in one
group of Muslims. The study seeks empirical evidence regarding
the impact of Islamic values compared to materialistic and
hedonic values on subjective well-being. The survey data is
used to test a comprehensive theory of human nature and
happiness model from an Islamic perspective to see whether it

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helps to achieve more happiness with less/moderate

consumption. It has a great potential to explain whether Islam
could provide authentic happiness to humanity in this life.

Brief History of Happiness

Since early Greek history, philosophers have contemplated
happiness. Plato (428–347 B.C.)wrote a series of dialogues covering
Socrates’ ideas. In selected excerpts from the Plato’s Republic,
Socrates is challenged to defend his idea that a life of injustice leads
to unhappiness, while living justly results in happiness (Plato and Lee
1974). Socrates taught that a man “must know how to choose the
mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as possible.
Seneca (3 B.C.–A.D. 65), a Roman philosopher, argued that
happiness requires living in accord with reason, putting aside desires
and fears, and being dutiful. The most important and influential
Greek philosopher of happiness is undoubtedly Aristotle. Aristotle
(384–322 B.C.), a student of Plato, in The Nicomachean Ethics,
developed the view of happiness as a life activity in accord with
virtue and contemplation of scientific and philosophical truths.
Aristotle argued that the psychology of the soul and its virtues is
based on the golden mean between the extremes or the so called
“Golden Mean.”
According to Aristotle, we all aim an end in our action and
thought. We desire everything for certain ends. This could be
intermediate or final ends. While intermediate end is desired for other
ends, final end is desired for itself. In other words, anything that
helps to reach desirable outcome is good; however, supreme good is
desired by itself. According to Aristotle, happiness is such a
supreme/final good for human being. He argues that happiness is
not pleasure even though it comes with pleasure. Happiness is virtue.
It is to live virtuous life. In other words, happiness is not thought,
“activity in accord with virtue” (Aristotle, 1999, p.1098b 31). It is not
affection and capacity as well: “We are neither called good nor called
bad nor are we praised or blamed, insofar as we are simply capable of
feelings. Further, while we have capacities by nature, we do not
become good or bad by nature” (Aristotle, 1999, p.1106 a 8-12).

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Since Aristotle defines happiness as the supreme good through

virtuous actions, he had to provide definition and means for virtue,
too. He argues that virtue is excellence in life. By excellence he
means moderation in actions. For that matter, eudonic happiness is to
act wisely in terms of making choice for the final good. It is to avoid
excessiveness and deficiency in life. It is striking the means. It is
finding a balance point between a deficiency and an excess of a trait.
In his view, excellence in life can be achieved through “practical
intelligence” which he defines as exercising prudence and wisdom. In
his terms, “one has all the virtues if and only if one has
prudence”(Aristotle, 1999, p.1145a 2). In other words, if a happy
person is the one who employs his mind in a proper way and
understand that living well is living in moderation. Such a person will
assign the proper weight to each virtue in accordance to its
contribution to the final good, happiness.
Aristotle hierarchically puts pleasure into three categories:
sensual, egoistic (or pleasure of honor) and intellectual
(contemplative) pleasures. He argues that the last one is the best
among the three. While the first type is unique to animal, the second
one is common among politicians. However, the third one, which is
the highest and most worthy one, is unique to human beings. Even
though Aristotle considers the highest pleasure in
contemplative/virtuous life, he does not think that pleasure is the
highest goal. Indeed, he argues that bad pleasures could even lead to
an unhappy life: “most people are deceived, and the deception seems
to come about because of pleasure—for it appears a good thing when
it is not. So they choose what is pleasant as something good, and they
avoid pain as something bad” (Aristotle, 1999, p.1113a 35-b2). For
that matter, according to Aristotle, it is important to use practical
wisdom to identify good pleasure in virtuous actions from bad
pleasure in vice.
The Western philosophy of happiness changes mirroring, the
tautological focus on religion of the Western society. Saint Augustine
(354–430), a Christian theologian, argued that the happy person
possesses wisdom that comes from God. Saint Thomas Aquinas
(1225–1274), a great theologian and philosopher of the medieval
period, argued that the greatest happiness cannot be found in bodily

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pleasures, honors, wealth, power, glory or even moral actions.

Rather, it can be found in the contemplation of God.
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), a founding figure in English
moral and political philosophy, argued that individuals driven by
self-interest will fail to reach happiness if there is no effective
government. David Hume (1711–1776), one of our most influential
philosophers, argued that life is governed more by chance than by
reason; therefore, we should not expect a perfect correlation between
virtue and happiness. Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), also a preeminent
figure in the history of philosophy, argued that the existence of God
cannot be proved, but needs to be postulated in order to ensure a
correlation between morality and happiness. Arthur Schopenhauer
(1788–1860), a German philosopher, argued that we live in the worst
of all possible worlds, and all happiness is but an illusion.
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1822), the father of capitalist
consumer theory, argued that the goal for human beings is to
maximize pleasure and minimize pain (Bentham 2007). He
developed a “utility calculator” in order to assist people making
estimates toward maximizing their utility through material
consumption. The simple formula in his happiness model is defined
as follows: the more you consume, the happier you will be. John
Stuart Mill (1806–1873), a leading British philosopher of the 19th
century, argued that pleasures differ qualitatively. In his words, “it is
better to be a human being dissatisfied than a fool satisfied; better to
be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied” (Mill and Crisp 1998,
p.57).
Happiness is no longer a subject matter confined to disciplines
of philosophy, religion and psychology; it is now the subject of
research in the fields of sociology, economics, and even neurology.
New fields such as Positive Psychology, Economics of Happiness,
and Neuroeconomics were conceived due to growing interests in
“Happiness” related issues. While psychologists analyze the sources
of human satisfaction, economists use happiness data to retest
assumptions about consumer preferences and utility maximization.
They have used subjective well-being data to measure the
non-pecuniary effects of unemployment (Clark et al. 1994; Darity Jr
and Goldsmith 1996, 121), to study the relationship between

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happiness and economic growth (Kenny 1999, 3), to measure the

effects of political institutions (Frey & Stutzer, 2000), and to study
the non-monetary effect of crime (Powdthavee 2005, 531-547) on
well-being. Of the literature identified by an ECONLIT search from
1960 to 2006, sixty-one percent of publications since 2000 are on
subjective well-being (Clark, Frijters, and Shields 2008, 95).
Furthermore, some economists (Di Tella & Macculloch, 2008; Frey
& Stutzer, 2002) are seriously trying to create a uniform Gross
National Happiness (GNH) index, similar to the Gross National
Product (GNP) index, in order to better measure and monitor the
happiness of nations.
There are humanistic psychologists, such as Abraham Maslow,
Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm who developed theories that are based
on fulfillment as the driving force for happiness. Positive
psychology, ushered in by Martin Seligman in 1998, associates
happiness with the cardinal virtues, strengths of character,
orientations to happiness, and life satisfaction. Through the study of
how ‘things go right” research on happiness is not just focused on
“how things go wrong”—in other words, studying those who
describe themselves as happy and adding a reduction of negative
influences on happiness while increasing positive influences on
happiness or happier (Manusov et al 1995).
The results of many relatively recent studies report on the
negative impact of materialistic (or extrinsic) values on subjective
well-being. Extrinsically oriented teenagers, college students and
adults report lower rates of self-actualization and positive experience,
along with higher rates of depression, anxiety, narcissism, and
substance abuse (Kasser T and Ryan RM 1993, 410-22; Kasser and
Ryan 1996, 280; Kasser 2002; Sheldon KM and Kasser T 1995,
531-43; Williams et al. 2000, 1756). The opposite was found for
intrinsically oriented people (Richins and Dawson 1992, 303; Sirgy
1998, 227-260). They argue that compared to those who are low in
materialism, those who are high in materialism have an underlying
feeling of insecurity, poor interpersonal relationships, and a low or
contingent sense of self-esteem. Also, those who are high in
materialism tend to ignore psychological need-satisfying behaviors,
such as social engagement and affiliation (Duriez B et al. 2006,

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2892-2908). They argue that intrinsic values for self-acceptance,

affiliation, and community feeling increase psychological well-being
while extrinsic values for material success, fame and image
experience decreased personal well-being.
It was Easterlin (1974) who first came up with some
quantitative signs of the happiness crisis in capitalism. In his study
which covered the years between 1946-1970, he found that despite a
great increase in the real income per capita, there was not a
significant change in subjective well-being. He later completed a
similar study for Japan and found that the average self-reported
happiness level did not increase in Japan between 1958 and 1987
despite a five-fold increase in real income. Since this study, we have
seen a surge in studies on happiness. Most of them confirm
Easterlin’s findings in terms of the impact of monetary wealth on
happiness. A recent study shows that the case is not quite different
for China which has been experimenting with consumer culture for
the last two decades. The study found that remarkable economic
growth from 1994 to 2005, with real income per capita increase of
250 percent, ownership of color television sets rose from 40 percent
of households to 82 percent, and the number of people with a
telephone jumped from 10 percent to 63 percent. Yet, this did not
translate into higher life satisfaction. Rather, the percentage of people
who say they are dissatisfied has increased, and the percentage who
says they are satisfied has decreased (Kahneman and Krueger 2006,
3-24).

Needs for a New Theory of Human Nature

We suggest that a major shortcoming of existing happiness theories
emanates from a difference on interpretation of human nature.
Navigating a path to happiness requires a journey through
consciousness and an understanding of what we refer to as the
human’s “Inner Universe.” Since ancient Greece, many philosophers
and scholars argue that it is impossible for any person to reach
authentic, pure, and lasting happiness without becoming aware of the
key elements of the inner universe and knowing how to utilize the
elements that lie within that universe. Jonathan Haidt, the author of
the Happiness Hypothesis, emphasizes the importance of

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understanding human nature when he writes, “I realized why modern

philosophy seemed sterile: it lacked a deep understanding of human
nature... only by knowing the kinds of beings what we actually are,
with the complex mental and emotional architecture that we happen
to possess, can anyone even begin to ask about what would count as a
meaning of life” (Haidt 2005, p. 205).
By human nature, we mean the common universal elements
shared by humanity. It does not matter whether human nature is
shaped by God, nature, or nurtured by society. It is the fact that we
all have similar biological needs. While types of food may vary from
culture to culture, the need for food is common across all cultures.
Similarly, we all experience sensual, emotional, intellectual, and
spiritual needs because of the universality of our nature. Although
methods to satisfy these needs vary among cultures, existence of the
needs is shared by all human beings. For instance, every human
being has the capacity to love and the desire to be loved. It is only the
objects of love and values surrounding the concept that differ across
cultures.

Nursi’s Theory of Human Nature and Model of Happiness

Established on the writings of Muslim scholars such as Al-Ghazzali
(2007) and Rumi (2004), Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960)
developed a comprehensive theory of human nature (1996c; 1996a;
1996b). Nursi describes that human motivation and action, and
therefore happiness and unhappiness, are likened to a palace
(Markham and Pirrin 2011). Even though Nursi uses the palace as a
metaphor for human body and residents as human faculty, Aydin
(2012) developed a recreational vehicle (RV) and its residents (King,
Judge, Adviser, Elephant, Showman, and Driver) as metaphor to
define a new theory of human nature called Grand Theory of
Human Nature (GTHN) based on Nursi’s writings. In one way, this
paper is an empirical test of GTHN. He later adds dog to residents of
human nature (Aydin 2015).
Traveling in an RV relates to the interaction of various facets
that contribute to happiness on the happiness road. Indeed, happiness
is defined as experience on the road rather than a destination to be
reached. The King is the spiritual heart that is the source of love,

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compassion, and inspirational knowledge. He relates to the role of

spiritual fulfillment in happiness. Metaphorically speaking, the
spiritual heart of an individual is like the King in a human vehicle.
He has the capacity for love, compassion and inspiration. He also has
certain needs and desires for the fulfillment of his potential. The King
uses his capital of love to make attachments with material and/or
immaterial things such as money, property, lovers, friends, nature
and God. The King also has capacity for compassion, which is the
source of empathy for the well-being of other individuals. He
receives pleasure from exercising this compassion and feels pain
when not able to exercise compassion. GTHN suggests that
individuals should take care of the needs and desires of the inner
King first.
The Judge is the conscience that is the source of positive
feelings after performing “good things” and negative feelings
experienced after doing “bad things.” The Judge is analogous to
Freud’s super-ego.
The Adviser relates to the cognitive self or thinking mind. The
Elephant is the animal spirit or Freud’s id, which is the source of
animalistic desires. The Showman is the self-centric ego that pursues
power and possession to show its importance to others. The Dog is an
inner drive for protection of personal belongings with potential to
oppress others of their possessions. The Driver is the deciding self
(free will) that drives the vehicle under the influence of the residents.
In Nursi’s view, it is not possible for a person to discuss
“happiness” in the singular form because there are many “residents”
(selves) who are competing within the human “vehicle.” When we
say “I am happy,” who do we mean is happy, the Dog, the King, the
Judge, the Adviser, the Elephant or the Showman? Of course, we
could make a collective statement on behalf of all the residents if
they all experience the same level of happiness. In this regard,
happiness is not a destination; it is experience on the highway of life.
Nursi’s view of human happiness can be summarized as a happiness
matrix.
The happiness matrix captures six different dimensions of the
human experience as represented by the residents of the vehicle. For
instance, happiness for the King depends on how one fulfills the

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needs/desires of love, compassion and inspiration. Love pursues

beauty, perfection and benefits. Life for the King in this regard is a
journey of making attachments. The number, intensity, and duration
of attachments produce spiritual or esthetical pleasures. As the King
gains pleasure by making attachments through love, compassion, and
inspiration, he also suffers from any detachments that occur. Like the
King, each resident of the human vehicle experiences pains and/or
pleasures from daily activities. Therefore, if we follow Nursi’s
understanding of human nature, we should define happiness as a
function of subjective well-being for all residents in the matrix as
shown below:

+ ™Zi hi(Xi) = w1 h1(K) + w2 h2(J) + w3 h3(A) + w4 h4(D) + w5 h5(E) - w6 h6(S)

Where H is one’s overall satisfaction with life, wi is the weight of

specific happiness variable in one is overall happiness with life, h1 is
one’s happiness function with the King, h2 is one’s happiness
function with the Judge, h3 is one’s happiness function with the
Advisor, h4 is one’s happiness function with the Dog, h5 is one’s
happiness function with the Elephant, and h6 is one’s happiness
function with the Showman. In Nursi’s view, overall life satisfaction
is maximized when the needs and desires of the first five are fulfilled
in a balanced way while the effect of the last one (the Showman) is
minimized.
Nursi argues that authentic happiness is possible if individuals
listen to the voices of all residents of the human vehicle and try to
fulfill their needs and desires in a balanced manner. One cannot
achieve true happiness by listening to only one resident while
disregarding the others. By knowing each resident in terms of their
needs, desires, and dangers, an individual can attempt to find that
balance. In many ways, the residents of our body are quite similar to
the members of a family living in the same house. As the entire
family’s peace and happiness is possible if each family member lives
in peace and prosperity, the inner peace of a person is also possible if
each resident of his vehicle lives in peace and prosperity. Making one
family member happy and leaving the rest of the family in misery is
not true happiness for the family. Likewise, making one resident of

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the human vehicle happy, but neglecting the others, is a recipe for
discontent. Therefore, it is important to define the happiness function
for each resident separately based on the relevant variables in the
table above.
In order to achieve overall happiness, each resident’s
happiness should be considered. Prioritizing the needs and desires of
residents in case of scarcity and conflict allows harmony. For
instance, if we spend too much time earning money for sensual
pleasure, we will have less time left for pursuing other pleasures.
Furthermore, things that give pleasure to one resident might be
painful for the other. For instance, drinking too much alcohol might
create sensual pleasure, but kill intellectual pleasure. Thus, overall
happiness requires effort to balance the needs and desires of all
residents very similar to Aristotle’s theory of the Golden Mean.
While materialism attempts to fulfill sensual desires of human
beings through conspicuous consumption, Nursi suggests a happiness
model through moderate material consumption and spiritual
nourishment. Our study is designed on the conceptual and theoretical
framework of Nursi’s spiritual happiness model. Based on Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs, positive psychology that emphasizes hedonic
adaptation and the relationship of happiness to higher level spiritual
and aesthetic pleasures, and the Nursi Spiritual Happiness model, we
would like to test and see if in a highly spiritual group of Muslims
who study the work of Said Nursi, will report higher levels of
satisfaction as related to devotion and spiritual practice.

Hypotheses
In his answer to a question asked by many on the secret for the
success of RN, Nursi points out that in good deeds and virtues and
spirituality are to be found pleasures like the pleasures of Paradise.
This study is an empirical test of Nursi’s happiness model and
argument. Nursi’s argument could be reformulated in the form of
hypotheses as follows:

Hypothesis 1: Happiness is measurable in terms of pleasures,

positive feelings, and overall satisfaction and can be related to the
fulfillment of human needs. The higher level pleasures will result in a

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greater, longer lasting life satisfaction.

9 Specific Aim 1: To modify the Aspiration Index to identify
domains of human experience as they relate to a hierarchy of
pleasures.
9 Specific Aim 2: To correlate the hierarchy of needs with a
pyramid model of pleasures that can result in a greater sense of
well-being and life satisfaction.

Hypothesis 2: RN readers are well informed about the

undesired consequence of materialist, hedonic, egoistic values.
9 Specific Aim 1: To measure the success of RN readers in terms
avoiding hedonic and materialist life styles.
9 Specific Aim 2: To measure the correlation between intrinsic
and extrinsic values and subjective well-being for different
groups of RN readers.

Hypothesis 3: RN readers gain comprehensive understanding

of human nature and human needs. As they read RN, they are
involved in more spiritual, intellectual, and social activities.
Therefore, they are expected to have greater life satisfaction.
9 Specific Aim 1: To measure the change in need fulfillment for
the different groups of RN readers in order to see whether
advancement in reading of RN results in the greaterfulfillment
of needs.
9 Specific Aim 2: To measure the level of subjective well-being
among RN readers comparatively to see whether advancement
in reading of RN increase the level of subjective well-being as
suggested by Nursi.

Research Design
During 2010, 1523 questionnaires were sent using an online survey
tool (Vovici), to Risale-i Nur (RN) readers identified by the Istanbul
Science and Culture Foundation, a foundation with a mission of
promoting Said Nursi’s views. The Risale-i Nur is the name of the
collection of six-thousand-page commentary on the Qur’an written
by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi.The survey consists of three sections. The
first section includes 13 questions about demographic information,

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such as gender, age, level of education, household income, and marital

status, the frequency of RN readings, the number of times the entire
RN collection was read and participation in relevant activities. The
second section includes 86 questions aimed at capturing the
frequency of certain activities within 14 life domains using a 9-point
Likert-type scale (the choices given range from almost never (1) to
almost always (9)). This section reproduces the well-known
Aspiration Index that captures eleven domains of human experience
that include self-acceptance, affiliation, community feeling, security,
health, spirituality, financial success, image, popularity, hedonism,
and conformity (Kasser, T. (2007). Our survey adds three more
domains, namely intellectual life, honesty and fairness, and
aesthetics experience. The third section of the survey captures three
sets of questions on life satisfaction, needs, and pleasures. The first
set includes five questions of the Satisfaction with Life Scale
developed by Ed Diener and colleagues (1985) to measure life
satisfaction (Deci, E. L., &Ryan, R. M.1985). The second set includes
ten questions on the satisfaction of certain needs. The third set asks
participants to rank ten pleasure types in terms of their contribution to
happiness, ranking from the lowest (1) to highest (10) based on the
degree and intensity of their contributions.
The face validity is assessed by experts in the field of
well-being, including the author of the Aspiration Index. The
questionnaire was validated with senior researchers in the field of
well-being, including the author of the Aspiration Index. The
questions measuring the profile of RN readers were shared with
several experts on Nursi’s works. Many questions were modified
based on the expert opinions.

Data Analysis and Results

Profile of Participants by Levels

For comparison, the participants were divided into three subgroups
based on their responses to the following questions: (1) the number
of times they read the entire RN collection; (2) the number of pages
per day they read from the RN collection; (3) the number of RN
study circle they attend per week; (4) the number of times they recite

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long dhikr (tasbihaat) after the five daily prayers; and (5) the number
of years they have studied the RN collection. The level of
participants was determined based on the weighted scores of their
responses to the questions above. The weighting factor was
arbitrarily determined as 30 percent for questions 1 and 2, 15 percent
for questions 3 and 4, and 10 percent for question 5. The three
subgroup categories based on these weighted scores were: Beginner
(0 to less than 1.5 points); Intermediate, (1.5 to less than 4.1 points);
and Advanced (4.1 points and above)l.
The statistical program SPSS 17 was used to analyze the data.
Psychometric properties of the Aspiration Index and Satisfaction with
Life Scale were checked using the protocol suggested by the authors of
the original scales and as used in previously published work in these
areas. 1

RESULTS
In total, 489 individuals (32%) responded to the survey. Those who
failed to respond to fifty percent or more of the questions were also
dropped. In total, the responses of 341 individuals were assessed. The
demographic profile of the respondents is very much consistent with
the known profile of RN readers. Even though the number of females
is one fourth of the participants, the sub-sample of women is
sufficient to conduct a gender analysis. Overall, the response rate and
the sample size are considered high compared to other web-based
surveys. 2
The beginners, on average, read the RN collection less than one
time. They rarely read the RN or recite tasbihaat. They generally
attend one RN study circle per a week and were familiar with RN for
up to 4 years. The individuals at the intermediate level, on average,
have read the entire RN collection 1-3 times; read up to five pages of
RN per day; recite tasbihaat a few times per day; attend 2 weekly RN
study circles per week and were familiar with RN for 4-12 years. The

1
The information is available on this Dr.Kasser’s personal website:
http://faculty.knox.edu/tkasser/aspirations.html
2
Can J Public Health. 2010 May-Jun;101(3):251-4.; Doerfling P, Kopec JA, Liang
MH, Esdaile JM.
Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1L7

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individuals at the advanced level, on average, have read the RN

collection seven or more times; read 10-15 or more pages from RN
collection every day; recite tasbihaat regularly after daily prayers;
attend 3-5 weekly RN study circles per week and were familiar with
RN for 13 years or more. As is expected from the factors used to define
the RN reader’s levels, the beginners are relatively young and less
educated compared with the other two groups. The three groups are
otherwise comparable in terms of ages, marital status, education
levels, and household income.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Values and Subjective Well-being

The second section of the survey is based on the Aspiration Index.
The questions were designed to capture the values and goals of
individuals within 14 different domains. This measurement allows
for the assessment of the relative centrality of particular goals/values
within an individual's personal goal/value system. In our survey, we
ranked the importance of each domain based on the frequency of
occurrence of relevant activities. We consider this as an indirect and
more reliable measure of personal goals/values.
To measure the relative importance of each value/goal within
the entire value/goal system, we conducted the following steps: First,
we calculated the mean score for each value domain by taking the
average response of relevant questions. Second, we calculated the
mean of 14 domain scores to find the total importance of values/goals
for an individual. Third, to find the relative importance an individual
placed on each type of aspiration, we subtracted the total importance
score (the mean score of 14 domains) from each of the 14 raw subscale
scores. This gave us 14 different mean-corrected importance scores,
one for each type of aspiration. We also calculated a summary
intrinsic score by averaging the 7 intrinsic mean-corrected importance
scores (spirituality, honesty, affiliation, intellectual life, personal
growth, aesthetics experience, altruism) and a summary extrinsic score
by averaging the 4 extrinsic mean-corrected importance scores
(hedonism, popularity, money, and image).
The results for each level of RN readers are presented in Table 1
and Table 2. Table 1 shows the domains with positive mean-corrected
scores while Table2 shows the domains with negative mean-corrected

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scores. As seen in Table 1, spirituality, fairness and honesty,

affiliation, intellectual activities, self-acceptance and personal growth,
aesthetics experience, conformity, community feeling, and physical
health have positive mean-corrected scores. The mean score for all
goal/value domains mentioned are consistently higher for higher
levels of RN readers. In other words, the more they read RN and are
involved in relevant activities, the greater importance they place on
these goals/values in their life.

Table 1: Life Domains with Positive Aspiration Index Scores

Beginner (n=82) Intermediate (n=191) Advanced (n=68)

Std. Std. Std.

Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median
Dev. Dev. Dev.

Spirituality 2.5 2.7 0.8 2.8 2.8 0.6 2.9 2.9 0.5
Fairness and
2 2.1 1.1 2.1 2.2 0.9 2.1 2 0.8
honesty
Affiliation 1.7 1.8 0.8 1.9 2 0.8 1.8 2 0.7
Intellectual life 1 0.9 1 1.1 1.2 0.9 1.4 1.4 0.7

Self-acceptance
0.8 0.8 0.9 1 1 0.8 1.3 1.2 0.8
and growth
Aesthetics
1.1 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.3 1 1.1 1.1 0.9
experience
Conformity 0.2 0.3 1.1 0.5 0.5 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.9

Community
feeling and 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7
altruism

Physical Health 0.2 0.3 1.2 0.4 0.5 1.1 0.6 0.6 1.3

7 Intrinsic Values 1.4 1.4 1.0 1.6 1.6 0.8 1.6 1.6 0.7

As seen in Table 2, hedonism, popularity and fame, money,

image, security and fear have negative mean-corrected scores for all
three levels of RN readers. Again, the negative scores are consistently
greater for higher levels of RN readers. The more they read RN, the
less importance they place on the goals/values in Table 2 and the

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 MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

more they value spirituality, fairness and honesty, family and

friendship, intellectual activities, personal growth, aesthetics
experience, conformity, altruism, and health in Table 1.

Table 2: Life Domains with Negative Aspiration Index Scores

4
Popularity Insecurity
Levels of RN Readers Hedonism Money Image Extrinsic
and Fame and Fear
Values
n 82 82 82 82 82

Mean -2.9 -2.6 -1.9 -1.8 -1.1 -2.3

Beginner
Median -3.0 -2.7 -1.9 -1.9 -1.4 -2.4
Std.
0.8 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.1 1.0
Dev.
n 191 191 191 191 191

Mean -3.2 -3.0 -2.1 -2.0 -1.5 -2.6

Intermediate
Median -3.2 -3.2 -2.1 -2.1 -1.5 -2.7
Std.
0.7 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
Dev.
n 68 68 68 68 68

Mean -3.5 -3.3 -2.3 -2.2 -1.8 -2.8

Advanced
Median -3.5 -3.5 -2.2 -2.3 -1.8 -2.9
Std.
0.7 1.1 0.8 1.1 0.9 0.9
Dev.

Since the mean-corrected importance scores peak for the

advanced level of RN readers, we would like to focus on this group in
terms of their world value system and subjective well-being. Figure 1
captures the world value/goal system for the advanced level of RN
readers. Based on the mean-corrected importance scores, the figure
shows that the advanced level RN readers place greater importance on
spirituality, honesty and fairness, family and friendship, intellectual
activities, personal growth while they try to stay away from hedonic,
egoistic, and materialistic goals/values.

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NECATI AYDIN

Figure 1: The World Value/Goal System for the Advanced Level RN

Readers

Subjective Well-being of the RN Readers

We used the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to measure the
subjective well-being of RN readers (Diener et al. 1985).The SWLS is
a short 5-item instrument designed to measure global cognitive
judgments of satisfaction with one's life. Participants were asked to
indicate their relative agreement with each item in Table 4 by placing
the appropriate number ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7
(strongly agree). Based on the findings of numerous studies, Diener
and colleagues published a guideline on how to interpret the SWLS
scores. 3 The guideline divides the SWLS scores into six categories
of life satisfactions: 1) extremely satisfied (with 30-35 total score or
6-7 mean score); 2) Satisfied (with 25-29 total score or 5-6 mean
score); 3) Slightly satisfied (with 20-24 total score or 4-5 mean
score); 4) Slightly dissatisfied (with 15-19 total score or 3-4 mean
score); 5) Dissatisfied (with 10-14 total score or 2-3 mean score); 6)
Extremely Dissatisfied (with 5-9 total score or 1-2 mean score).

3
http://www.psych.illinois.edu/~ediener/Documents/Understanding%20SWLS%
20Scores.pdf, accessed on September 19, 2010.

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 MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

According to a comprehensive life satisfaction survey

conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute in 2010, 54 percent of
people are satisfied with their life. The response to the comparable
question (the question # 3 in Table 3) in our study, 62 percent of the
beginner, 82 percent of the intermediate, and 93 percent of the
advanced group members are satisfied with their life.
Table 3 shows the SWLS scores of RN readers stratified by
levels. If we assess their overall life satisfaction based on question 3,
according to the Diener SWLS scale above, the beginner would fall in
the high level of satisfaction group while the intermediate and
advanced groups would fall in the highest level of life satisfaction. The
mean score increases from 5.5 point to 6.3 when they advance in their
reading level of RN. The increase of life satisfaction across the groups
is consistent for all five questions. This is evidence that the
advancement in reading RN collection increases people’s life
satisfaction. According to the SWLS total score, the beginners fall in
the high ceiling of the third category of life satisfaction. They have the
mean score of 23.4 and median score of 25.8. On the other hand, the
intermediate group falls into the highly satisfied category while the
advanced group is just one point shy of the extremely satisfied
category based on the median score of 28.5. This means that the
individuals in the advanced group “love their lives and feel that things
are going very well. Their lives are not perfect, but they feel that things
are about as good as life gets.” While the individuals in the
intermediate group feel that things are mostly going well. Means
comparison between the three groups, using one-way ANOVA, shows
statistically significant values for each question as seen in the last
column of Table 3.

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Table 3: SWLS Scores of RN Readers

One-
Way
Beginner Intermediate Advanced
ANOV
A
Sig.
Std. Medi Std. Std.
Mean Median Mean Mean Median between
Dev. an Dev. Dev.
groups

1. In
most
ways my
4.8 5.1 1.7 5.4 6.0 1.3 5.6 6.0 1.1 .001
life is
close to
my ideal.
2. The
conditio
ns of my
4.2 5.0 1.7 5.0 5.0 1.4 5.2 5.5 1.3 .000
life are
excellent
.
3. I am
satisfied
5.5 6.0 1.3 5.9 6.0 1.2 6.3 6.0 0.7 .000
with my
life.
4. So far
I have
gotten
the
5.0 5.3 1.5 5.4 6.0 1.3 5.7 6.0 1.0 .006
importan
t things I
want in
life.
5. If I
could
live my
life over,
3.9 4.3 2.0 4.3 4.4 1.8 5.0 5.0 1.8 .002
I would
change
almost
nothing.
Total
SWLS 23.4 25.8 8.2 25.9 27.4 7.0 27.8 28.5 5.9
Score
Mean
SWLS 4.7 5.2 1.6 5.2 5.5 1.4 5.6 5.7 1.2
Score

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 MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

The Need Satisfaction and the Pleasure Pyramid

In order to understand the factors affecting subjective well-being, we
asked the participants to express their level of satisfaction by using
1-7 scale (1 for strongly disagree and 7 for strongly agree) in
fulfilling the following types of needs:
1. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “sensual” needs/wants such as
eating, drinking and sex.
2. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “spiritual/religious” needs/wants
such as worship and pray.
3. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “intellectual” needs/wants such as
reading and contemplating.
4. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “aesthetics” needs/wants such as
enjoying beauty in nature.
5. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “social” needs/wants such as
friendship.
6. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “altruistic” needs/wants such as
helping others through charity.
7. I am satisfied with fulfilling “self-acceptance” needs/wants such
as trusting my abilities.
8. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “conscience” needs/wants such as
being honest and fair.
9. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “egoistic” needs/wants such as
being admired and fame.
10. I am satisfied with fulfilling my “emotional” needs/wants such as
having love and compassion.

The need satisfaction scores indicate how much the respondents

are satisfied with fulfilling their particular needs. As seen in Table 4,
the advanced group scores extremely high for spiritual, intellectual,
conscience, aesthetics experience, social, altruistic, and emotional
pleasures. Second, the satisfaction scores increase as the level of RN
readers rises. In other words, the advanced group has greater
satisfaction in need fulfillment for all needs with the exception of
egoistic need. Indeed, other questions on egoistic goals and values
clearly indicate that RN readers do not think favorably about egoistic
pleasures. Therefore, the decline in the egoistic score when we moved
from the beginner to the advanced group is consistent with other

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findings. Third, the highest mean gains between beginner and

advanced group (last column in Table 4) are seen for the fulfillment of
spiritual and intellectual needs followed by social, emotional, sensual,
aesthetics experience needs. As seen in the last column of Table 4,
means comparison between the three groups, using one-way ANOVA,
shows statistically significant values for all need fulfillment except the
following three: conscience, altruistic, and personal growth.

Table 4: Need Satisfactions for RN Readers by Levels

Intermediate Net
Beginner (n=82) (n=191) Advanced (n=68)
Mean
Std. Sig.
Std. Std. Gains
Dev.
Mean Med. Dev. Mean Med. Dev. Mean Med.

Spiritual 5.5 6 1.6 6.2 6.1 1 6.4 7 0.8 0.9 .000

5.5 6 1.4 6.1 6 1 6.4 7 0.8 0.9 .000

Intellectual

6 6 1.1 6.1 6 0.9 6.3 6.1 0.9 0.3 .183

Conscience

5.7 6 1.3 6 6 1 6.2 6 0.7 0.5 .006

Aesthetics

Social 5.5 6 1.5 5.9 6 1 6.1 6 0.8 0.6 .002

Altruistic 5.6 6 1.2 5.8 6 1.1 6 6 0.8 0.4 .067

Emotional 5.3 6 1.5 5.7 6 1.2 5.9 6 1.2 0.6 .015

Sensual 5.1 6 1.6 5.6 6 1.3 5.7 6 1 0.6 .017

Personal 5 5.2 1.5 5.1 5.2 1.4 5.4 6 1.3 0.4 .225
growth

Egoistic 3.5 3.1 1.8 2.9 3 1.5 2.9 2.5 1.7 -0.6 .038

Immediately after the need fulfillment, the participants were

asked to rank 10 different pleasures in terms of their contribution to
their happiness, ranking from the lowest (1) to highest (10) based on
the degree and intensity of contributions. We calculated the final
ranking based on cumulative score, not individual score for each
pleasure type. For instance, the ranking of nine, we added ranking of 9
and above for each pleasure.

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 MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

One way was to test the hypothesis about the relationship

between subjective well-being and the fourteen life domains captured
in our study was to measure the correlation coefficient and
significance for each domain. As seen in Table 6, according to Pearson
Correlation coefficients, all of the domains except image and
popularity are statistically significant. In other words, the significance
test indicates that the correlation is a real one and not a chance
occurrence. Personal growth has the highest correlation coefficient
followed by spirituality, affiliation, health, conformity, intellectual
growth, honesty, altruism, and aesthetics experience growth.
Consistent with the aspiration index scores, insecurity and fear,
hedonism, and money have negative correlation with subjective
well-being.

Discussion of the Findings

Nursi places great importance on a spirituality based on a verified
belief set not on blind imitation. For that, first, he insists on intensive
involvement in reading and reflection in addition to worshipping.
Therefore, it is not surprising to see spirituality as the most important
life domain for RN readers. Second, Nursi mentions conscience or
what Freud refers to as the super-ego as an important human
psychological process that results in discomfort when we act unfairly
and dishonestly. As an important part of their spiritual beliefs and
study, RN readers place high importance on fairness and honesty in
their life. Third, the high scores for affiliation, intellectual life, and
personal growth are consistent with the teachings of RN. Indeed, RN
puts great emphasis on sincere friendship and family values. RN
readers regularly come together for intellectual and spiritual
activities. Fourth, the positive score for the aesthetic experience is
reflected in Nursi’s emphasis on the artistic dimension of God’s
works in the universe. Nursi urges his readers to observe the
manifested beauty in the universe as a great sign of God’s existence.
RN readers focus on the beauty of the Universe and therefore regard
aesthetic pleasure as important to their level of well-being. Fifth, the
positive score for conformity may be due to Nursi’s teaching of
tolerance and universal friendship. Indeed, Nursi encourages his
readers to feel a friendship with everything in the universe through

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understanding their interconnectedness as creatures of God. Sixth, the

positive score for altruism might be a result of Nursi’s emphasis on
sacrifice as a required quality of sincere friendship and
brotherhood/sisterhood.
The importance of Nursi’s teaching can also explain the
negative aspiration index scores as well. For RN readers, hedonism is
least important or even most deleterious to their level of happiness.
Nursi provides compelling evidence against hedonic pleasures as a
source of happiness. Nursi argues that hedonic pleasures contain
poison; therefore, they result in painful rather than pure pleasures. In
his view, the source of this type of pleasure is the instinctual soul
(nafs). He encourages his readers to stay away from these types of
pleasures (as a fulfillment of need). He provides spiritual and
intellectual training for such restraint. The more people read the RN
collection, the more they avoid hedonic pleasures. Second, the high
negative scores for both popularity and image might be due to Nursi’s
emphasis on the ego/self (ana) as the most dangerous internal enemy.
Nursi argues that the understanding of God and submission to His
power could only happen if we understand who we are and give up our
imaginary egotism/godship. Third, the negative score for materialist
values and money might reflect Nursi’s emphasis on the worldly
possessions as means rather than end goals. Even though Nursi
acknowledges the importance of material gains as means, he warns his
readers on indulging in material possession as an end goal. Finally, the
negative score for fear and insecurity might be due to Nursi’s
emphasis on absolute control of God in all worldly affairs. Nursi
argues that those who have certainty in God as the Absolute Power in
control of everything with infinite mercy and absolute goodness would
not worry about anything. They would do their part and place their
trust in God.
We were not surprised that spiritual pleasure was ranked as the
highest type of pleasure. However, we were surprised to see that if
ranked based on the individual score, the egoistic pleasure would be
the lowest for one half and the highest for the other half. In other
words, the respondents were evenly divided in their rankings of the
egoistic pleasure. This is in direct contradiction with what the high
negative aspiration index scores for the popularity and fame and image

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 MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

domains show. It also contradicts with the egoistic need fulfillment

score in Table 6 as well. Furthermore, when we analyzed the responses
to the questions related to egoism in the second part of the survey, we
found negative correlation between the level of RN readers and
egoism. For instance, when asked about their desire for lasting fame
even after their death, fifty four percent of the beginners said they
never or rarely have such desire while sixty five percent of the
intermediate group and seventy five percent of the advanced group
said that they would desire lasting fame. Due to the conflicting
evidence mentioned, we think that the statement on egoistic pleasure
was not clear enough, therefore, misunderstood by many respondents.
Particularly, the clarifying example given in parenthesis might have
confused the respondents. Therefore, we decided to drop the egoistic
pleasure in our final analysis.
Since the advanced group falls into the highest life satisfaction
level, we believe it is important to present their rankings of pleasures.
In other words, we would like to see what works for people by
examining the pleasure pyramid of the individuals with highest level
of life satisfaction. As seen in Table 5 and Figure 2, spiritual,
intellectual and emotional pleasures are the peak of the pyramid. This
means that for the advanced RN readers, spirituality, intellectual
growth, love and compassion are the most desired qualities in their
life. In other words, if they were asked to give three most important
keys for happiness, they would say: pray, read, and love. This is quite
consistent with the teaching of RN. In Nursi’s view, since the source
of love is God, the love for worldly things is part of the love of God if
one understands that his or her object of love is nothing other than the
manifestation of the names of God. According to the pleasure
pyramid, the other secrets for happiness are hidden in the appreciation
of the arts and beauty, in the honest and fair acts, in the altruistic
behaviors, in the family and friendship, in the personal growth, and the
enjoyment of sensual pleasures. Putting sensual pleasure at the bottom
of the list does not mean that advanced RN readers do not enjoy
sensual pleasures. Indeed, as seen in Table 5, they read RN more as
they experience sensual pleasures. However, compared to other type
of pleasures, for the advanced RN readers, sensual pleasure are the
least important.

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NECATI AYDIN

Table 5: Ranking of Pleasures by the Advanced RN Readers

Cumulative Ranking Score

Type of
Ranking 10 9-10 8-10 7-10 6-10 5-10 4-10 3-10 2-10 1-10
Pleasures

10 Spiritual 30 35 39 40 43 44 45 47 52 69

9 Intellectual 3 18 26 31 31 31 35 41 46 48

8 Emotional 3 12 21 30 39 46 51 55 59 59

7 Aesthetics 0 1 10 19 31 31 42 48 52 56

6 Conscience 2 9 15 25 28 36 42 50 56 57

5 Altruistic 0 2 9 15 27 27 35 40 42 44

4 Social 2 3 8 16 25 28 39 44 45 45

Personal
3 2 9 14 18 22 23 32 39 56 58
Growth
2 Sensual 2 8 14 21 23 26 31 31 45 48

Figure 2: The Pleasure Pyramid for the Advanced RN Readers

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 MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

Table 6: The Correlation between Subjective Well-being and

Value/Goal Domains

Levels Beginner (n=82) Intermediate (n=191) Advanced (n=68)

Pearson Pearson Pearson

Domains Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed)
Correlation Correlation Correlation

Honesty -.019 .866 .183*** .011 .150 .223

Aesthetics .014 .904 .124* .087 .196 .109

Intellectual .018 .871 .090 .217 .237** .052

Insecurity & Fear -.329*** .003 -.024 .738 .036 .774

Hedonism -.058 .607 -.134* .065 .175 .154

Image -.018 .872 -.027 .711 .173 .159

Self-acceptance .215** .053 .437**** .000 .402**** .001

Spirituality .002 .988 .357**** .000 .207* .090

Money -.019 .869 -.128* .078 .137 .266

Health .197* .076 .324**** .000 .210* .085

Affiliation .179* .108 .328**** .000 .049 .690

Pop. & Fame .113 .310 -.040 .585 .059 .634

Altruism -.104 .350 .142** .050 .197 .108

Conformity .025 .825 .259**** .000 .211* .084

*p<0.10, **p<0.05, ***p<0.01, ****p<0.001

Concluding Remarks and Limitations

This study adds to the literature on well-being and satisfaction that a
life filled with spiritual growth, positive emotions, psychology, and
behaviors, and a desire to improve oneself and humanity evident in
the writings of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi contribute more to
well-being and satisfaction than a life dedicated to hedonic pleasures
and materialism. It shows that Islam could offer an alternative
way of happiness to those who are trapped in the “Hedonic treadmill”
as suggested by Nursi.

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Indeed, while materialism attempts to fulfill sensual desires of

human beings through conspicuous consumption, Nursi offers a
happiness model through moderate material consumption and
spiritual nourishment. He also provides means to control sensual
desires. Nursi says that it is necessary to be freed from material
desires in order to develop spiritual dimension. He believes that we
are spiritual beings sent to this materialistic world to find and reach
the Divine, not to live in an animal form of life. Therefore, spiritual
development is the essential goal for a practicing Muslim who is
supposed to detach his heart from all material attachments and adhere
to the Divine. In Nursi’s view, although happiness is not life’s
purpose for a Muslim, it is the by-product of his spiritual journey.
Nursi challenges consumer culture with his writings and Sufi
type life style. He argues that "absolute vice" was being called
civilization, and he severely critisizes this "dissolute civilization"
which promotes a consumer culture. He says that it casts humanity
down to the level of animals: .”.. its alluring service is to excite lust
and the appetites of the soul and facilitate the gratification of whims,
and their result is vice.”The mark of lust and passion is always this:
they transform man into a beast, changing his character; they deform
him, perverting his humanity" (Nursi, The Words, p. 745).
Nursi refers to the civilization based on Abrahamic tradition as
a“virtuous civilization” because it takes all the subtle faculties of man
into account, causes him to progress spiritually, and to rise higher
than even the angels. 4 For virtuous civilization, Nursi says: "Its aim
is virtue instead of self-interest ... Its service takes the form of
guidance and direction instead of lust and passion. And the mark of
guidance is progress and prosperity in ways befitting humanity; "The
spirit is illumined and perfected in the way it requires" (The Words,
p. 745-6). In Nursi's view, dissolute civilization looks on life as a sort
of amusement and makes the world into a “theme park.” It tries to
gratify people's instinctual souls through entertainment of all sorts. It
is because of this that whenever they can, its pupils organize

4
For further discussion on this issue, please read the following article by Dr. Furkan
Aydiner: “Virtue vs. Decadence: The Struggle of Civilizations with the Global
Village”, in the Globalization, Ethics, and Islam: The Case of Bediuzzaman Said
Nursi, Ashgate, 2005.

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 MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

gatherings for the purpose of fun and want to experience carnal

pleasures of every kind. Where dissolute civilization amuses the
instinctual soul, virtuous civilization gratifies the spiritual subtle
faculties, chiefly the heart, affording happiness.
In his answer to a question asked by many on the secret for the
success of RN, Nursi says that “the Risale-i Nur demonstrates that in
misguidance is a sort of Hell in this world, while in belief is a sort of
Paradise.” It points out the grievous pains in sins, bad deeds, and
forbidden pleasures and proves that in good deeds and virtues and
spirituality are to be found pleasures like the pleasures of Paradise.
“In this way it saves the sensible among those who have fallen into
vice and misguidance” 5 He also argues that this is the only effective
way to save people from contemporary temptation: “Since man’s
emotions, which are blind to the consequences of things and prefer an
ounce of present pleasure to tons of future joys, have prevailed over
his mind and reason, the only way to save the dissolute from their
vice is to show them the pain present in their pleasure and to defeat
their emotions. Although they are aware of the diamond-like bounties
and pleasures of the hereafter, as the verse (they deem lovable the life
of this world (Qur'an, 14:3)) indicates, while being believers, the
people of misguidance choose worldly pleasures, which are like
pieces of glass soon to be shattered. The only way of saving them
from this love of the world and from the danger of surrendering to it
is by showing them the hell-like torments and pains they suffer even
in this world. This is the way the Risale-i Nur takes.” 6
Nursi further argues that it is no longer possible to affect
people’s behaviors by reminding the reward and punishment of the
hereafter. “For at this time, due to the stubbornness arising from
absolute unbelief and the intoxication caused by the vice and
misguidance arising from science, perhaps only one in ten or even
twenty can be induced to give up his evil ways by proving the
existence of Hell and its torments, after having told him of Almighty
God. Having heard this, such people are likely to say: “God is
Forgiving and Compassionate, and Hell is a long way off,” and
continue in their debauchery. Their hearts and spirits are overcome

5
Said Nursi, The Damascus Sermon / Introduction, p. 19.
6
Nursi, The Damascus Sermon / Introduction, p. 20.

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NECATI AYDIN

by their emotions. Thus, by showing through most of its

comparisons, the grievous and terrible results in this world of
disbelief and misguidance, the Risale-i Nur makes even the most
stubborn and arrogant people feel disgust at those inauspicious, illicit
pleasures, leading them to repent.” Nursi makes a very bold argument
in the same book: “those who follow vice and misguidance, suffer a
hellish torment in this world too, while through the manifestations of
belief, the believers and righteous may taste through the stomachs of
Islam and humanity the pleasures of Paradise. They may benefit
according to the degree of their belief.”7
This study provides strong empirical evidence for Nursi’s
happiness model. However, it is important to note few weaknesses
before concluding the paper. The response rate is higher than many
internet-based surveys; however, there could be significant reporting
bias. It is possible that only the very motivated or ardent followers of
Nursi answered the survey. Time constraints, internet availability,
technology competency could have also affected the response rate.
The Vovici software has been reported to slow down with certain
browsers, and prospective respondents could have been unable or
unwilling to battle the technology. A repeat study to confirm findings
would be helpful.
A larger sample size with more demographic variables
especially women is necessary to determine any differences lost due to
a small sample size. In addition, future studies are necessary to test the
findings in this study. The cohort was derived from one organization
and therefore could be biased. It is possible that followers of Nursi
who do not belong to the Istanbul Science and Culture Foundation,
would respond differently.
Happiness is measurable in terms of pleasures, positive
feelings, and overall satisfaction and can be related to the fulfillment
of human needs. Those participants that study, practice, and live
according to the teachings of Nursi report great levels of satisfaction.
The teachings of Nursi emphasize a life dedicated to God, love,
compassion, service to others and high spiritual achievement and
de-emphasize hedonic pleasures and materialism. Although it is not
known if these teachings would result in the same findings across
7
Nursi, The Damascus Sermon / Introduction, pp. 23-24.

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 MATERIALISM, HEDONISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

societies, cultures, and religions, the results suggest that the universal
values taught in Islam result in high levels of life satisfaction in
practicing participants.
Finally, in order to further test our hypothesis, especially in
regards to a pleasure pyramid, future studies should compare findings
across cohorts that endorse varying personal values and beliefs. For
example, in order to further test the concept of a pleasure pyramid,
groups that endorse spiritual, intellectual, emotional, aesthetics
experience, conscience, altruistic, social, self acceptance and sensual
pleasures could be queried with the same methodology.

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