Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Professor-The Islamic College,(affiliated with Middlesex University), UK Adjunct Professor, National Research Institute for Science Policy (Iran)
Abstract
In modern times many militant atheist thinkers and activists have tried to promote the idea that religions, as well as religious ways of life, are one of the main, if not the main source of evil in the social arena. Some other non-believer scholars, while taking a respectful approach towards religions and religious people, maintaining that it is more rational for people and communities to adopt a non-religious outlook on life and become members of the community of non-believers. In this paper, I do not take issue with the militant non-believers. The reason is that their approach to religion is so ideologically driven that it leaves not much room for proper rational discussions; it only invites some polemical replies. My aim here is, instead, to enter into a dialogue with those non-believer scholars who view religion in a measured and rational way. My intention is to critically assess the claims of this latter group of scholars and explain why, contrary to what they suggest, certain interpretations of religion, and in particular, the Islamic faith, can provide them with better alternatives than their atheist outlooks. The arguments of this paper are mostly in reply to the views expressed by Professor Shearmur in his paper on critical rationalism and religion.
Keywords
Akpan, N. (2019). There is no ‘gay gene’. There is no ‘straight gene’. Sexuality is just complex, study confirms, PBS, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/there-is-no-gay-gene-there-is-no-straight-gene-sexuality-is-just-complex-study-confirms, (accessed 27/5/2023 The following is based on Paya 2018, Introduction).
Al-Munaijid, M. S. (2009). Why Does Islam Forbid Lesbianism and Homosexuality? Islam: Questions & Answers, https://islamqa.info/en/answers/10050/why-does-islam-forbid-lesbianism-and-homosexuality, (accessed 27/5/2023).
Barnard, W. (1992). Explaining the Unexplainable: Wayne Proudfoot's ‘Religious Experience’ Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 60(2), 231-256.
Bellah, R. (1970). Christianity and Symbolic Realism, Scientific Study of Religion, 9(2), 89-96.
Berg, R. (2022). Iran building collapse death toll jumps to 26, BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-61548490, (accessed 27/5/2023).
Cicero, M. T. (2022). How to Grieve: An Ancient Guide to the Lost Art of Consolation, Translated with commentary by Michael Fontaine, Princeton University Press.
Davies, B. (2006). The Reality of God and the Problem of Evil, Continuum.
Dostoevski, F. (1879). Brothers Karamazov, English translation by Constance Garnett, (2015), First Avenue Editions, A division of Learner Publishing Group, Inc.
Louis. D. (1975). The Enigma of Religious Art, The Review of Metaphysics 29(1), 27-44.
Ferry, L. (2019). A Brief History of Thought: A Philosophical Guide to Living, Harper-Perennial.
Giordano, C. (2022). Sperm donor fathered 15 children without telling mothers of incurable genetic condition, The Independent, Monday 6 June, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sperm-donor-incurable-condition-james-macdougall-b2091072.html, (accessed 27/5/2023).
Goldthwait, J. (1960). Anthropology from a Pragamtic Point of View, Berkeley.
Hendricks, M. (2010). Islamic Texts: A Source for Acceptance of Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society, The Equal Rights Review, Vol. 5, pp. 31-51.
Hund, W. (1983). The Sublime and God in Kant's Critique of Judgement, The New Scholasticism, 57(1), 42-70.
Ignatieff, M. (2015/2020). On Consolation, Metropolitan Books.
James, W. (1902/2002). Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature, Routledge.
Kaiser, J. (2019). Genetics may explain up to 25% of same-sex behavior, giant analysis reveals Still, researchers caution that genes can’t predict who might be gay, bi, or straight, Science, 29 August, https://www.science.org/content/article/genetics-may-explain-25-same-sex-behavior-giant-analysis-reveals, (accessed 27/5/2023).
Kant, I. (1764/2011). Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime, edited by P. Frierson & P. Guyer, Cambridge University Press.
Kant, I. (1772/2006). Anthropology from a Pragmatist Point of View, translated and edited by R. Louden, Cambridge University Press.
Kant, I. (1788/2015). Critique of Pure Reason, translated by Mary Gregor, revised edition, Cambridge University Press.
Kant, I. (1790/2000). Critique of the power of judgment, translated by P. Guyer & E. Mathews, Cambridge University Press.
Koslowski, P. (ed.) (2001). The Origin and the Overcoming of Evil and Suffering in the World Religions, Springer.
Kugle, S. S. (2010). Sexual Diversity in Islam, Muslims for Progressive Values, https://www.mpvusa.org/sexual-diversity, (accessed 27/5/2023).
Lazaroff, A. & Boston. (1980). The Kantian Sublime: Aesthetic Judgment and Religious Feeling, Kant-Studien, 71:2
Lewis, H. D. & Whiteley, C. H. (1955). Symposium: The Cognitive Factor in Religious Experience, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes, Vol. 29, Problems in Psychotherapy and Jurisprudence, pp. 59-92.
Martin, C. & McCutcheon, R. (eds.) (2012). Religious experience: a reader, Routledge.
Marzaleh, M., Ahmadi & Peyravi, M. (2022). Lessons Learned from the Collapse of the Metropole Building, Iran, Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 17(e232), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2022.173, (accessed 27/5/2023).
Miller, D. (1994). Critical Rationalism: A Restatement and Defense, Open Court.
Nietzsche, F. (1883). Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None, English translation by R. J. Hollingdale (1974), Penguin.
Paya, A. (2003 & 2024). Analytic Philosophy: Problems and Prospects, Tarh-e No. The 2024 edition of this book is a revised and expanded edition. (in Persian)
Paya, A. (2018). Islam, Modernity and a New Millennium: Themes from a Critical Rationalist Reading of Islam, Routledge.
Paya, A. (2019). Justice and Ethics as Totipotent Emergent Properties: A Critical Rationalist Perspective, in the Proceedings of the Annual International Conference on Shi ‘i Studies, Vol. 4, ICAS Press.
Paya, A. (2023). The Myth of ‘Modern Islamic Sciences’ and the Contribution of Muslim Scientists to Modern Sciences: The Case of ibn Arabi’s Mā Lā Yo ‘awwalu ‘Alaih (What Cannot be Trusted), Zygon, autumn 2023 (forthcoming).
Popper K. (1935). Logik der Forschung, Verlag von Julius Springer.
Popper, K. (1945/19662). The Open Society and Its Enemies, Routledge.
Popper, K. (1959/2002). The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Routledge. Originally published in Popper.
Popper, K. (1963/2002). Conjectures and Refutations, Routledge.
Popper, K. (1978). Three Worlds, The Tanner Lecture on Human Values. Delivered at The University of Michigan 7 April, 1978. https://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_resources/documents/a-to-z/p/popper80.pdf, Accessed 26 May 2023.
Popper, K. (1994/2000). In Search of a Better World, Routledge.
Popper, K. (1994). The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality, Routledge.
Popper, K. (2008). After the Open Society: Selected Social and Political Writings, edited by J. Shearmur & P. N. Turner, Routledge.
Proudfoot, W. (1985). Religious experience, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press.
Reardon, S. (2021). Genetic patterns offer clues to evolution of homosexuality, Nature, 23 August, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02312-0, (accessed 27/5/2023).
Reichenbach, H. (1938). Experience & Prediction, Chicago University Press.
Scheffler, S. (2013). Death and the Afterlife, Oxford University Press.
Shearmur, J. (2023). Is It More Reasonable for a Critical Rationalist to Be non-Religious? Philosophical Investigations, 17(42) 317-331.
Teymoori, A. (2018). Homosexualy from Shia Jurist’s Point of View, Ijtihad, http://ijtihadnet.com/homosexualy-from-shia-jurists-point-of-view/, (accessed 27/5/2023).
Townsend, M. (2012). Anders Behring Breivik's 21-year jail term closes Norway's darkest chapter, The Guardian, 24 August 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/24/anders-behring-breivik-verdict-norway-utoya, (accessed 27/5/2023).
)
Send comment about this article