My Philosophy of Knowledge from the Article ‘Islam and the Sciences of Nature: Some Fundamental Questions

Accordingly, a religious person is devout in the sense that he has no doubt of the significance and loftiness of those super personal objects and goals which neither require nor are capable of rational foundation. They exist with the same necessity and matter-of-factness as he himself. In this sense religion is the age-old endeavour of mankind to become clearly and completely conscious of these values and goals and constantly to strengthen and extend their effect. If one conceives of religion and science according to these definitions then a conflict between them appears impossible. For science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value judgments of all kinds remain necessary. Religion, on the other hand, deals only with evaluations of human thought and action: it cannot justifiably speak of facts and relationships between facts. According to this interpretation the well-known conflicts between religion and science in the past must all be ascribed to a misapprehension of the situation which has been described.

Knowledge is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge is a gift from God. Knowledge is God, God is a someone, not a something. Full knowledge concerning God can’t be explained.

When dwelling into the explorations about science and religion, one can find it quite amusing. "If science and religion are to continue to coexist it seems opposed to the conditions of modern thought to admit that this result can be brought about by the so-called

we now know as the Scientific Method, the most basic structure of good science. These islamic

The journal is peer reviewed and published at the University of Oxford, so the resource is credible. The sole purpose of this article is to show how scientists

in Al-Ghazal). Interpretations of the Qur’an also associate the gaining of knowledge with comprehension of religion (Rosenthal 29). “Islamic philosophy was … concerned with the basic issue of the harmony between human reasoning and the revelations provided to the Muslims in the holy Qur’an” (Al-Ghazal). This emphasis coupled with a lack of scientific censorship by Islam, provided an impetus for the study of many branches of science, including medicine (Al-Ghazal).

What is Science? When it comes to the word ‘science’ most of the people have some kind of knowledge about science or when they think of it there is some kind of image related to it, a theory, scientific words or scientific research (Beyond Conservation, n.d.). Many different sorts of ideas float into an individual’s mind. Every individual has a different perception about science and how he/she perceives it. It illustrates that each person can identify science in some form. It indicates that the ‘science’ plays a vital role in our everyday lives (Lederman & Tobin, 2002). It seems that everyone can identify science but cannot differentiate it correctly from pseudo-science and non-science (Park, 1986). This essay will address the difference between science, non-science and pseudo-science. Then it will discuss possible responses to the question that what should we do when there is a clash between scientific explanation and non-scientific explanation. Then it will present a brief examination about the correct non-scientific explanation.

The example mentioned above concerning the cosmos and its origin is one that brings in the conversation of religion, and understanding what the balance between science and religion is in the Islamic

What is knowledge? God is the source of all knowledge, as its Creator. Knowledge includes our cognitive processes, according to His creation of humans as rational beings, but true knowledge

Physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries. From the great mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, who did much to establish the mathematical tradition we now know as algebra, to Ibn Sina, a pioneer of early medicine whose Canon of Medicine was still in use as recently as the 19th century, he pieces together a remarkable story of the often-overlooked achievements of the early medieval Islamic scientists.

The medieval Islamic world of science started as a controversial field to be working in. The scientific practices went against the beliefs of the people because it stated things that were the opposite of the readings in the Koran. Religious peoples said that Allah created everything in existence himself while scientists said that everything occurred naturally. Even though there was conflict over the beliefs of the people, the Islamic scientists still managed to prosper and produce a Golden Age of Science in the medieval Islamic world. The contribution of the Arabo-Islamic scholars to the genesis of modern sciences constitutes a passionately debated topic of research, and in many encyclopedias of science and its history, the Arabo-Islamic

Muslims had many reasons for finding advancements in science. Rulers wanted professionals treating their illnesses. They needed mathematicians to calculate the time for prayers. They had a deep curiosity of the world and a quest for the truth. Muslim astronomers made advances in science, math, astronomy and geography. A lot of muslim cities had observatories for people to study the sun, moon, and stars. This helped them better understand time and clock making. Muslims also improved the astrolabe which the greeks had invented to chart the stars. A muslim mathematician wrote two important books. IN one book he laid the foundation for modern algebra and in the other it explained the new numbering system which was created when the indian number

Within Sufism, Al-Ghazali defined the difference between Ilham (inspiration) and Ta’allum (reasoning or learning). He believes that inspiration and revelation in union with religion hold a superior position than reasoning that originates from philosophy. Rational knowledge, according to Al-Ghazali, is always relative to the senses. The knowledge of the senses, however, cannot be trusted as valid. True knowledge, known as the Truth, only comes through inspiration and revelation (McCarthy 378). Al-Ghazali introduces the aspect of God, or Allah, in the acquisition of perfect knowledge. “Inspiration can bring one closer to Allah than philosophical learning alone” (Inglis). Ultimately, this idea of Ilham brings with it the Supreme Reality which is equivalent to Truth (McCarthy 378). In practical terms, Al-Ghazali believes that the necessary Truths of the intellect begin from “a light which God most high cast into my breast. That light is the key to the greater part of knowledge” (Al-Ghazali 25). An individual can only experience this light of God if he or she has reached the “state.”

Science “aims to save the spirit, not by surrender but by the liberation of the human mind” (Wilson, 7). Both religion and science seek to explain the unknown. Instead of surrendering reasoning with the traditional religion, a scientific approach one takes full authority over it. Being an empiricist, Wilson takes favors the scientific approach to the question: “why are things the way they are?” This question can pose two meanings: How did this happen, and what is the purpose. Traditional religion answers this question with stories, many of which are impossible to prove or disprove, making them arguments of ignorance. These explanations entail the adherent surrender reasoning and put faith in the resolution. According to Wilson these are always wrong (Wilson, 49). Science is the most effective way to learn about the natural world. Religion is merely speculation.

Since the dawn of mankind religion has been one of the most significant elements of a society’s social and cultural beliefs and actions. However, this trend has declined due to the general increase in knowledge regarding our the natural sciences. Where we had previously attributed something that we didn’t understand to the working of a higher power, is now replaced by a simple explanation offered by natural sciences. While advocates of Religion may question Natural Sciences by stating that they are based on assumptions, it is important to note the Natural Sciences are based on theories and principles which can be proven using mathematical equations and formulas. Faith however contrasts from the easily visible feasibility of data