More than any other time in history, the postmodern era has made generalizations harder to make. It is difficult to distinguish how the products of industrial designs and philosophical approaches influence and shape executive practices. For instance, one cannot demonstrate determinedly how managerial actors are influenced by documented forms of philosophy. Tracking that influence, in turn, is a laborious objective to achieve by publishable measures of information.

Middle Eastern populations have contributed very little, if any, to the development of philosophical thought worthy of global circulation in the twentieth century. It is very likely that this trend would continue in the twenty-first century. A brief look at the many peer-reviewed journals relating to philosophy shows that Middle-Eastern authors have contributed very slightly to the academic literature of philosophy since the beginning of the twenty-first century. This may wrongly instigate a global notion that Middle Eastern populations are not capable of contributing significantly to the current development of philosophy in the world. A prominent cause of this may be a lack of English proficiency among Middle Eastern populations, which was largely the case in the twentieth century. Making enjoyable pieces of English literature available to Middle Eastern populations can connect them not only to the English language but also to a broader intellectual territory.

Another problem is the Middle Eastern preoccupation with basic needs and materialistic relief. People go from “need” to “relief” in an endless cycle which ultimately leaves less room for people to moderate themselves cognitively. Being in need, especially materialistic need, often makes people think of nothing more than relief. Then, when relief comes, people concentrate on preventing the termination of relief. It becomes a cycle when the period of relief finally ends and gives its place to “need”, thereby making people seek relief again. Even though this cycle is a respectable one, a misfortune becomes apparent in the midst of its challenges. It turns out that people’s minds would find less time to think differently – beyond constricted views – and less reasons to use the potentials of their brainpower for knowledgeable gain, output and the multiplicity thereof. A similar type of pendulum can be described when the Middle East often swings between peace and violence or between justice and injustice. This may convey a narrow image to global readers – an image that implies the region is mostly a theater of conflict.

Accordingly, global readers might not even bother to imagine whether Middle Eastern populations can produce valuable amounts of intellectual output, due to the stereotyped perception the world often has of the region, along with a notion that people are living in the Middle East just to be alive. And yet, the best of what the average European observer has probably seen so far are pictures of Middle Eastern schoolgirls trying to receive basic education, and becoming complacent about its significance, as if learning to read would be enough a charity for a woman’s intellectual boundary. Learn to read, just to claim that one can read. Of course, it is not enough. Middle Eastern populations deserve to become a lot more productive through their brainpower. Not just to write and complain about basic needs like security, food or water, but to become mature enough to provide the world with higher levels of understanding and thought as precursors to productive action. How that may happen can offer questions and answers that could motivate people’s pursuit and appreciation of philosophical thought and progress in thinking.