[Buddha-l] In Praise of Eckhart Tolle

[Dan Lusthaus]

> Give me a break, Dr Funhouse. First, I have never advocated any form of
> scientism. Scientism (which is usually used as a pejorative term) is the
> view that science is the only reliable means of attaining knowledge, and
> I have never said anything even close to that.

Which non-scientific epistemological activities do you condone?

>
> Second, I think there is an important distinction between science done
> by people who happen Jews and Muslims (of which there is a huge amount)
> and Jewish and Islamic science (of which there can, under most current
> definitions of science, be no such thing).

Now it's your turn to give me a break. Don't pass pronouncements on what you
evidently know nothing about. Of the more than 800 hits you will find on
Amazon.com if you search there for "Islamic science" (I'll leave the Jewish
stuff aside, since that usually elicits accusations by you of
"understandable" biases on my part), you might want to start with:

Nasr, Seyyed Hossain. _Islamic Science: an Illustrated Study_

Bakar, Osman. _The History and Philosophy of Islamic Science_

Bakar, Osman (with Foreword by SH Nasr). _Classification of Knowledge in
Islam: A Study in Islamic Philosophies of Science_

Stroumsa, Sarah. _Freethinkers of Medieval Islam: Ibn Al-Rawandi, Abu bakr
al-Razi and their impact on Islamic Thought_

Setia, Adi. _Islamic Science as a scientific research program: conceptual
and pragmatic issues_

or peruse the 1200+ pages of the Encyclopedia of Islamic Science and
Scientists, edited by N.K. Singh and M. Zaki Kirmani

Outgrowing universalistic pronouncements based on eurocentric misconceptions
is long overdue.

Of course, all the above authors would greatly benefit by learning from you
that the subjects of their study are not science and that science emerged
sui generis and ex nihilo in post-medieval Europe. Nasr, for instance, one
of the recognized leading scholars and practioners of Sufic Islam, who just
happened to have received his PhD at MIT in History of Science, could
obviously learn a lot about this subject from you.

Happy reading.

Dan (proponent of accuracy in historical judgements)