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WORLD-WIDE
CORRUPTION
BY SCIENTIFIC MATERIALISM
The
meaning of scientific materialism
Materialism
was born in the West in the middle of
the 18th century. The British
philosopher Berkeley first used the term
to mean an unjustified confidence in the
existence of matter. The term later came
to be used to signify a philosophical
movement or school which attributed the
origin of existence to matter and denied
the existence of anything immaterial.
Materialism may also be used to describe
a way of life which considers only
material pleasures of life and bodily
comforts and neglects the satisfaction
of spiritual needs.
Since
natural sciences have chosen for
themselves as their field of study only
the visible world and adopted a sensory
and experimental approach in their
studies, and since they tend to accept
as scientific only the conclusions they
have drawn through these methods, the
modern scientific world-view does not,
in practice, differ much from
materialism. That is, although there may
be scientists who believe in God and the
existence of immaterial entities like
spirit, the modern scientific approach
is by nature materialistic. For that
reason, scientific materialism is not
less harmful than materialistic
philosophy, rather, it may be said that
scientific materialism is more dangerous
that the other. For philosophical ideas
can be set to one side as no more than
theories which hardly affect one’s
everyday decisions or direct one’s
life. By contrast, people have in effect
no choice but to think and believe and
act in line with scientific conclusions.
The
effect of scientific materialism on the
way one shapes one’s life
Also,
scientific materialism has a
considerable effect on the way one
shapes one’s life. A person who does
not find it worthwhile to give any
consideration to belief in a Day of
Reckoning, in a Supreme Being Who sees
whatever he does, hears whatever he
speaks and is aware of whatever he
thinks, and Who will call him to account
for all his deeds in the world, will not
heed any rule other than secular laws
and will design his life only according
to the requirements of a short,
transient life. Further, if being
scientific is taken to mean denying or
at least doubting the existence of
anything metaphysical, and if people
unquestioningly accept that the only
objective knowledge is what sciences
discover, whereas whatever people may
know of the spiritual dimension of
existence is sheer superstition, then
people will be left with no alternative
other than to live as materialists. So,
scientific materialism and the practical
materialism it produces are responsible,
besides the birth of philosophical
materialism and communism, for the
world-wide crisis observable in the
erosion of morals and spiritual values,
the increase in crimes and
drug-addiction, and in injustices
committed against weak peoples of the
world and ruthless colonialism
continuing in disguised forms, and other
modern social and political diseases.
Scientific
materialism, though it does not
theoretically deny the existence of
truths outside the visible world,
accepts that anything immaterial cannot
be known, not that it is not known to
us. You can discuss with a materialist
in philosophy about the existence of God
or anything outside the material
dimension of existence. But since
scientific materialism argues that
anything except material things cannot
be known, it causes one not to think
about immaterial truths. So, it is
scientific materialism which gave rise
to agnosticism-the belief that nothing
can be known about God or of anything
except material things. It is also
scientific materialism which, because it
tends to explain immaterial truths in
material terms and therefore reduces
quality to quantity and the spiritual to
the physical-as is most clearly observed
in psychology, psychiatry and
psychoanalysis-is responsible for the
rise of most modern false beliefs and
‘mystical’ practices.
Practical
materialism
The
practical materialism, to which
scientific materialism gave birth,
prevails in the lives of all the world’s
people, whether they be Muslims,
Christians, Jews or atheists. For most
people mean economic development, the
betterment of worldly life, when
development is talked about, and give
precedence to worldly life in their
considerations. And since material
wealth and resources cause rivalry and
competition in the relations among
peoples and countries, not a single day
passes without clashes on the face of
the earth, on a large or small scale.
Even
if we leave out the human values, lofty
truths and ideals, and spiritual
happiness, which have all been
sacrificed for the sake of material
development, modern civilization based
on scientific materialism has caused
mankind much harm. The products of
science are usually exploited in favor
of the great world powers to consolidate
their dominion over the world. Besides,
the developments in genetics, biology,
physics and chemistry are threatening
the very life of humanity on the earth.
Modern civilization, as pointed by Said
Nursi (The Letters 2, Truestar
1995, p. 310) is founded upon five
negative principles:
Five
negative principles on which modern
civilisation is based
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It
is founded and rests upon power;
power tends to oppression.
-
It
aims at the realization of
individual self-interests; pursuit
of their self-interests causes
people to rush madly upon things in
order to possess them and gives rise
to pitiless rivalry and competition.
-
Its
understanding or philosophy of the
nature of life is struggle; struggle
causes internal and external
conflicts.
-
It
seeks to unify its people on the
basis of racial separatism, fed by
swallowing up the resources and
territories of ‘others’; and
racism leads to terrible collisions
between peoples.
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The
service it offers to people is
satisfaction of the novel caprices
or desires it arouses in them;
(whether the satisfaction is real or
not) this service brutalizes people.
Modern
materialistic civilization stimulates
consumption and therefore gives rise to
new, artificial needs and increases them
day by day. Through the power of
propaganda and advertisements to exploit
some disapprovable human tendencies such
as ‘keeping up with the Jones’, it
can impose its demands upon people. As a
result of the way of life it necessarily
leads to-producing to consume and
consuming to produce-it destroys the
nervous balance of man and causes
extraordinary increases in mental and
spiritual illnesses. In such a way of
life there is left room for neither
spiritual profundity nor true
intellectual activity. For intellect is
put under the command of pragmatism and
earning more and more.
It
is highly questionable whether
scientific and economic developments
have brought happiness to man, whether
the developments in telecommunication
and transportation have provided for man
what he needs. It is highly questionable
whether modern man has been able to find
true satisfaction and solve all his
problems. Do his needs not increase day
by day? While people in the past needed
a few things to lead a happy life, does
not modern life make man feel the need
of some new things every passing day? To
satisfy each new need requires more
effort and production which, in turn,
stimulates more consumption. This leads
people to regard life as a course or
process of struggle and give rise to a
cruel rivalry and competition. So it
follows that because might is right in
such a world, only the powerful have the
‘right’ to survive. You may
understand from this what lies behind
such Western philosophical attitudes or
so-called scientific theories as
Darwinian evolution and natural
selection, historicism and the like.
The
destruction of nature and environmental
pollution
Another
disaster materialistic science has
brought upon man is the destruction of
nature and environmental pollution. What
a pity it is that nature, this
magnificent book, this charming
exhibition, which God, the infinitely
Merciful One, has created and presented
to us to observe and study and to be
exhilarated by, is no longer given any
more care than is given to a heap of
junk or rubbish. Worse than that, it is
more and more becoming a wasteland and
like a dunghill. Today, air, that
magnificent conductor of Divine
commands, is a suffocating smoke and a
perilous ‘whirlpool’. Water, that
source of life and other Divine
bounties, is either a hazardous flood or
forms desolate expanses of pitch. And
earth, that treasure of Divine Grace and
Munificence, is a wilderness no longer
safely productive and whose ecological
balance has been ruined.
Science
as being the sign and confirmation of
man’s being made superior to angels
We
do not belittle, nor condemn, scientific
studies and accomplishments. On the
contrary, we welcome them
enthusiastically as the signs and
confirmation of man’s being made
superior to angels. As is related in the
Qur’an, God created man as one who
would rule on the earth in conscious,
deliberate conformity with God’s
commands. Since he has been honored with
free will and is not compelled to do
anything, in order to fulfill his
function in creation, God has
distinguished him with the knowledge of
things and thereby made him superior
even to angels. So, we welcome
scientific developments and discoveries
as the result of this superiority.
However, in order for scientific studies
to be directed for the true benefit of
man, they must be pursued within the
guidance of immaterial, metaphysical,
God-given rules. They must aim at
founding a civilization which should
have the following five essentials:
The
five essentials of Islamic civilization
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It
should rest upon right, not upon
power; right requires justice and
balance.
-
It
should aim to encourage people to
virtue, which is a spur to mutual
affection and love.
-
Its
understanding or philosophy of the
nature of life should be not
struggle but mutual help, which
leads to unity and solidarity.
-
It
should unify people on the basis of
a common belief, shared values and
norms, which can lead to internal
peace and brotherhood.
-
It
should guide people to truth.
Therefore, besides encouraging them
to scientific progress, it should
elevate them, through moral
perfection, to higher ranks of
humanity.
This
civilization is that which the Qur’an
proposes to mankind and urges them to
found.
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