Science /Rationality/Faith..and NATUREI thought I would bring some parts of my written reflections in this blog for the purposes of larger public involvement and participation.
So here are my thoughts on the article "Islam and Science" by Masood published by Nature. First I would like to think of the questions of rationality and faith through a new prism of understanding, not the one we discussed with the help of Noble, but the one that kind of resonates with the modern state of the world.
So, in this new prism, the focal point is conflict. One of the first reactions we get when we think of science and religion is conflict, a conflict of interests. They bounce of each other, making a mess...confusing the public, or innocent civilians. Conflict is a conflict. It is an organized violence, controlled by institutionalized laws..
But we know that science and religions are not merely two opposing forces. On contrary, they complement each other in this strive to institutionalize structures, to naturalize laws, and to promote and impose certain attitudes and values. Indeed, science supported by 'the morality' of religion attains supremacy in the eyes of the public, or rather society as a whole. We accept it because it is how it is. ..he he..
Legitimacy of technological development, nuclear weapons, in particular, arises from a deep and sticky realm of religious dogmas not only in the west but throughout the world as the article clearly illustrates. Different parts of the world are on a mission to protect themselves from the other, to achieve security in their subjective worlds of ignorance, forgetting that we are all bound together on this planet. And we are all affected by each other. And ultimately, there is no other...But anyway, driven by ideal transcendence, or sacred duties, countries develop nukes to overpower..Evil powers whatever they are...to feel good. The question again arises whether we would know what peace is without knowing what war is. Indeed, it is a vicious cycle. And religion is at the roots, in the middle, and at the end of this race towards rationality.
Helbawi, one of the muslim religious leaders, says that science is basically a tool, and "both science and technology can be used to deter aggression, a justification..for developing a nuclear deterrent.. And science has a role in strengthening religious belief" (Masood 5). This idea just proves what I have been saying above. The world is not going to be a better place if people keep building weapons to promote justice or peace, or whatever...Hidden in their little worlds of arrogance, religious communities spread the anxiety of the upcoming end, of an imaginary aggressor, of some other entity that may become a potential threat to their own power...But who are these aggressors?? who is the other? If I look in the mirror, I see myself but from the other side..is that side me? no, that is not me, that is the other side of me..Without the mirror, there is no reflection, no other image...But that Other is essentially me. What I am trying to get here is that the other as a concept is ultimately an illusory concept.
Anyways, in terms of anxiety..and conflict...and this beliefs in the other as aggressor...My point is that conflict first arises at the bottom of the heart of each individual in her/his attempts to understand intersections between rationality and intuition, as an example.This conflict is a subtle feeling that emerges as an idea, than spreads onto the whole community as anxiety. Individual is never isolated, he or she exists in a community. So driven by this anxiety, he or she goes to a larger community for the purposes of larger discussions and debates about these thoughts on what is right or wrong...So here we go and discuss these matters, or engage in some activities that would help us understand better these matters. If we happen to find others who share our views, we form coalitions that may become future alliances. Our anxiety is lessened because 'I' is now many. Then if we belong to any religion that gives us satisfaction, we enlarge our alliances to include religious members in order for us to have a some kind of legitimate status.
Once we know we have all means to exist, we look for ends, and again we look at scriptures for meaning. We also know of other groups that have different scriptures and therefore may have different meanings. This idea underpins our notion of peace...if we are right, then those others are wrong. And if they are wrong, they may do something that is wrong..and this may promote further evil..and turn against us..and therefore they are 'The Other, which is potentially aggressor. Here we have anxiety that overwhelms and pushes us to the edge. We start looking for tools to defend, to protect ourselves...we anticipate aggression.
And we build weapons. If our religion permits us to destroy the other, we build something so destructive that is evil in itself...but nevertheless, we possess this evil. we are in control of it..and therefore we are justified in having this evil. And here we have nuclear powers, the symbol of destruction that permeates the whole of the 21st century. Vicious cycle? Naturalized conflict between science and faith?
Speculation?....
reality is that instead of achieving higher morality and pure consciousness, religion turns out to be a means for justifying destruction.....and so on
