Philosophy of islamic and modern western science in the discourse of Seyyed Hossein Nasr : an anlytical study

Abstract

The term Islamic science(s) was introduced by Seyyed Hossein Nasr in the 1950s which gained considerable momentum within Muslim and non-Muslim world of Academia. Nasr, based on his profound understanding of ontological and epistemological differences between Islamic and modern Western science, continued to elaborate his vision of Islamic science. However, there has not been yet any systematic assessment of his views on the philosophy of Islamic and modern Western science. This research seeks to analyze the intellectual background of the development of Islamic science. In an attempt to carry out this task, principal approaches, namely historical, analytical, evaluative and comparative have been widely used. The study finds manifold reasons of introducing the idea of Islamic science by Nasr and his contemporaries. It was established through historical analysis of various terms used to denote the idea of science. Another primary focus of this study is to analyze Nasr’s views on the philosophy of Islamic and modern Western science. For that purpose, comparative and historical analysis of the relationship between Greek and Islamic science, and their relationship with modern Western science are carried out. Theoretically, certain epistemological and ontological aspects of both philosophies are explored and, more importantly, the origin, nature and objective of Islamic and modern Western science as delineated by Nasr. Nasr’s articulation on the philosophy of Islamic and modern Western science is not flawless, and continues to be critiqued and counter-critiqued, though, it remains very influential in the academic circle. The study finds that his idea of Islamic science demonstrates the selective and exclusive elaboration of the topic. This is also established hypothetically by performing a comparative appraisal of the views of Nasr and other contemporary scholars on Islamic science. The findings demonstrate the success of the proposed recommendations in achieving the objectives of this study. This thesis aspires to add a notable contribution to the ongoing discussion for understanding the stance of Nasr on the philosophy of Islamic and modern Western science.