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The Approach to Belief - Epistemology | The Evidence Course | Session 1 / Part 2 (2021-06-16) ​

Description ​

Session 1 Part 2

In an age of information overload and widespread pseudo-intellectualism, understanding the core foundations of Islam is as essential as ever.

This course comprehensively deconstructs the skeletal structure of prevalent ideologies and concepts such as atheism, scientism, materialism, secularism, and skepticism, in light of an all-encompassing intellectually robust Islamic worldview.

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The Hosts: ----------------------| Jake Brancatella, The Muslim Metaphysician

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Yusuf Ponders, The Pondering Soul

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Summary of The Approach to Belief - Epistemology | The Evidence Course | Session 1 / Part 2 ​

This summary is AI generated - there may be inaccuracies. *

00:00:00 - 00:10:00 ​

discusses the philosophy of epistemology, which deals with the theory of knowledge. It explains that many atheists argue that there is no evidence for god, but this statement has a number of presuppositions, the first of which is that science is the only method of knowing. It also discusses other methods of knowing, such as empirical evidence and rational evidence. In the next video, we'll dive deeper into the scientific method and analyze its assumptions, insights, and limitations.

**00:00:00 ** Imam Ghazali says that the mind is like the jockey who rides the horse, and the emotions are like the horse. He says that when the emotions are high, people are very religious, but as emotions go down, their beliefs disappear.

  • **00:05:00 ** The philosophy of epistemology deals with the theory of knowledge, and divides into two groups: empiricists who believe that all true thoughts are derived only from experience, and rationalists who believe that we have previous information or pre-concepts before experience. The rationalists who believed that the mind could answer any questions included those related to the nature of metaphysics. This philosophy morphed into what we now know as the scientific method. Some atheists adopt the empiricist philosophy of knowledge and hold that if something cannot be empirically tested, then it does not exist or is unprovable.
  • **00:10:00
  • Discusses epistemology, the philosophy of knowledge. It explains that many atheists argue that there is no evidence for god, but this statement has a number of presuppositions, the first of which is that science is the only method of knowing. It also discusses other methods of knowing, such as empirical evidence and rational evidence. In the next video, we'll dive deeper into the scientific method and analyze its assumptions, insights, and limitations.

Full transcript with timestamps: CLICK TO EXPAND

0:00:14 i'm a bird0:00:16 you have a high temperature you feel a0:00:19 bit ill0:00:20 so you think to yourself i'm going to go0:00:21 to the doctor you tell the doctor your0:00:24 symptoms0:00:25 that you've got a headache you feel0:00:26 feverish and the doctor he closes his0:00:29 eyes0:00:30 and he starts mumbling to himself and0:00:33 then he opens his eyes0:00:34 and says you've got cancer0:00:38 and you'll be cured if you give me ten0:00:40 thousand pounds0:00:42 what would your reaction be would we0:00:44 take0:00:45 what he said on faith after all he is a0:00:49 doctor0:00:50 or would we question the doctor and ask0:00:53 what's the evidence0:00:55 do you have to make such a claim why0:00:58 give you ten thousand pounds doesn't0:01:00 make any sense0:01:01 now if the doctor stated that he feels0:01:04 it in his heart0:01:05 that you have cancer it's an emotion0:01:07 that he's feeling0:01:09 would you simply accept this so-called0:01:12 evidence0:01:13 evidence based upon emotion i think0:01:15 pretty much every single person will0:01:17 probably say0:01:18 no they wouldn't accept that we'd simply0:01:21 not base decisions0:01:22 like on matters of health on simply0:01:25 emotional grounds similarly imagine0:01:28 again0:01:29 you have a kid and he goes to uh0:01:32 he's doing his high school exams or0:01:35 college exams0:01:36 and he comes to a maths question on0:01:38 integration or calculus0:01:40 and it's a very difficult question and0:01:42 so he simply closes his eyes0:01:45 and he starts thinking or he thinks of0:01:47 the first answer that pops into his head0:01:49 and he puts that down0:01:51 was that acceptable of course not the0:01:54 reason why i give this0:01:55 and it sounds you know very silly you0:01:57 know answer0:01:58 or question or scenarios but the reason0:02:01 why i give this is because0:02:02 many times when we ask people why do0:02:05 they believe in what they believe0:02:07 they will either answer well everybody0:02:09 else believes it0:02:11 i what's a carrying in society0:02:14 or which is blindly following or what0:02:16 they will say0:02:17 is well i feel some emotional connection0:02:21 to this particular religious belief or0:02:23 whatever0:02:24 other type of belief that the person may0:02:26 have0:02:27 and so if we're saying that0:02:31 life and death or even just an exam0:02:34 that's not a sufficient methodology to0:02:36 establish belief0:02:38 uh it's to establish the answers in a0:02:40 maths exam0:02:42 then how can we then establish belief in0:02:45 our0:02:45 foundations yeah establish our0:02:48 foundational beliefs0:02:49 i the purpose of life on an emotional0:02:52 basis0:02:53 obviously it doesn't make any sense so0:02:55 we have to use0:02:57 a process of thought now some people0:03:00 will say yeah but0:03:01 isn't it the case that people do have an0:03:04 innate desire to worship0:03:06 and that's true and we will talk about0:03:08 this in later future videos and i think0:03:10 session four0:03:12 but we don't just allow the innate0:03:14 desire that did0:03:15 this what we obviously muslims call the0:03:17 fitra the desire to worship the creator0:03:21 leave that as the guide by which we then0:03:23 direct0:03:24 our worship because we know that when0:03:26 people just0:03:27 use their own feelings as a basis to0:03:30 make judgments0:03:31 really important judgments that they'll0:03:34 add superstition0:03:36 they'll have beliefs that are unfounded0:03:38 that there's no evidence for it0:03:40 and so as a result there's no0:03:42 trustworthiness0:03:43 similarly when the emotions are high0:03:45 they're very religious you know they0:03:47 really hold on to the belief0:03:48 and the purpose of life but as emotions0:03:50 go down suddenly the beliefs0:03:53 you know disappear or evaporate or0:03:55 become less and they0:03:56 they they have that less adherence to0:03:58 fulfilling what0:03:59 they believe they should do so0:04:02 yes the fitra the emotional aspect0:04:05 exists within human beings but it has a0:04:08 relationship with the mind as well0:04:10 imam khazali he gives a profound yet0:04:12 simple analogy0:04:14 to explain the importance of the mind as0:04:16 well as these emotions0:04:18 and he gives the example or he explains0:04:20 it by saying that the mind is like0:04:22 the jockey or the rider yeah and the0:04:25 heart or the emotions is like the horse0:04:28 so you have the jockey who rides the0:04:29 horse0:04:31 and he says that if you just had a horse0:04:33 and you let it go0:04:34 it's going to go in all different0:04:36 directions yeah it's going to go in this0:04:38 direction0:04:38 that direction and if you just had a0:04:41 rider0:04:43 without a horse then it will take him0:04:46 ages to finish the course0:04:48 so imam ghazali said the best scenario0:04:51 the best situation to be0:04:52 is where the jockey rides and directs0:04:55 the0:04:56 horse meaning what meaning thought0:04:58 driven0:04:59 emotion not emotionally driven thinking0:05:03 so it's not our emotions leading our0:05:05 thought but rather it's our thinking0:05:07 that leads our emotions0:05:09 so when we look at this question about0:05:11 purpose of life0:05:13 really we're asking the question what0:05:15 does our thinking0:05:16 what is the evidence based upon a0:05:18 thinking process leads us to0:05:20 regardless of this and so this leads us0:05:23 to the topic0:05:24 this big word called epistemology0:05:28 now epistemology is used in philosophy0:05:30 and all it simply means is0:05:31 theory of knowledge that is to say what0:05:34 is the method0:05:35 we use to determine the ideas we hold it0:05:38 we hold in the world0:05:39 you know what do we use what's the0:05:40 method that we use0:05:42 once we're clear about the method of how0:05:45 do we know0:05:46 the ideas that we hold we can then0:05:48 distinguish between what is a rational0:05:50 thought0:05:52 what is a thought that's built upon0:05:54 rational evidences0:05:56 from an irrational one so we need to0:05:58 understand0:05:59 how what methodology of thinking we're0:06:01 going to use0:06:02 now historically there were two groups0:06:04 in philosophy0:06:06 these are two broad groups the first one0:06:08 that were known as the empiricists0:06:10 and the second one were known as the0:06:12 rationalists now0:06:14 empiricists they believe that all true0:06:17 thoughts are derived only from0:06:19 experience0:06:20 that is to say that the mines are an0:06:23 empty vessel0:06:24 or in latin they said taboola raza0:06:27 meaning a blank slate and the proponents0:06:31 of a blank slate taboola bularaza argued0:06:35 against the rationalists the0:06:37 rationalists they differed they said0:06:39 we're not a blank slate0:06:40 when we look when we are born we're not0:06:42 just born without any preconceptions0:06:45 any pre ideas or any previous0:06:48 information0:06:49 but rather we are born with certain0:06:52 levels of innate knowledge and innate0:06:54 ideas0:06:55 this is what the rationalists said and0:06:57 so the empiricist said no that's not0:06:58 correct0:07:00 and from empiricism or from the0:07:02 rationalists i should say0:07:03 they were divided into two further0:07:05 groups0:07:06 those who believed that the mind could0:07:09 answer0:07:10 any questions including those questions0:07:13 related to the nature of what they term0:07:14 metaphysics0:07:16 so physics is about the study or the0:07:17 knowledge of the the world that we can0:07:20 sense0:07:20 the world that we can observe0:07:23 metaphysics0:07:24 is knowledge of the world outside of the0:07:27 physical world0:07:29 so they said these rationalists this0:07:32 particular group within the rationalists0:07:34 that so long as we really think about0:07:36 something0:07:37 deeply we develop a correct logical0:07:40 argument0:07:41 what they called a syllogism then we can0:07:44 determine0:07:45 all truths whether that is the nature of0:07:47 heaven0:07:48 the nature of resurrection where that is0:07:51 even how to comprehend0:07:52 the existence of god and the nature of0:07:54 god0:07:56 himself so this is with one group0:07:59 from the rationalists and the0:08:00 philosophers0:08:02 second group of rationalists believe0:08:04 that although we have0:08:05 previous information or pre-concepts0:08:09 before experience so before we0:08:11 experience something0:08:12 we actually already have some innate0:08:14 levels of ideas or previous information0:08:18 they said that the mind is still limited0:08:21 and thus can only conclude on a limited0:08:23 number of things0:08:24 primarily the implications of the0:08:27 observed0:08:27 universe and we will explain that a0:08:29 little later on0:08:31 as for the empiricists those who0:08:34 believed we only know0:08:36 through direct experience as a blank0:08:38 slate0:08:40 then this philosophy morphed into what0:08:42 we now know as the scientific method0:08:44 and what some atheists hold that we only0:08:47 know0:08:48 truths through this scientific method so0:08:51 empiricism knowledge through experience0:08:53 we have no innate ideas we can only know0:08:56 when we've experienced it0:08:58 this then became some of these0:08:59 philosophers then started to utilize0:09:01 these ideas0:09:02 to develop the scientific method0:09:06 and some atheists because they adopt0:09:08 this empiricist0:09:10 naturalist and scientific or scientism0:09:13 and we'll in the next video we'll0:09:15 discuss that in more detail0:09:17 but some atheists when they adopt this0:09:20 they say therefore0:09:21 that if something cannot be empirically0:09:23 tested0:09:25 meaning through the scientific method0:09:28 then0:09:28 such an idea does not exist or is0:09:30 unprovable0:09:32 inevitably this meant many empiricists0:09:35 believe that god's0:09:36 existence is unprovable you can't prove0:09:38 it0:09:39 as the very nature of the discussion0:09:41 would0:09:42 would be to conclude on an existence of0:09:45 a being i have a creator0:09:47 that was unsensible unobservable0:09:50 untestable if you come to the conclusion0:09:52 that god exists0:09:54 that conclusion upon a being that exists0:09:56 outside of the testable known of a known0:09:59 universe0:10:00 and therefore the proposition of god is0:10:02 outside of the physical world0:10:04 therefore god's existence can either0:10:06 never be proven0:10:07 at all or would they some atheist try to0:10:10 argue0:10:11 that the existence of god is like0:10:13 claiming the existence of0:10:14 pink bunny rabbits in space if you don't0:10:16 accept that then why would0:10:18 you accept this so this idea of0:10:20 epistemology0:10:22 understanding the method of knowing the0:10:24 method of knowing0:10:25 the ideas and differentiating between0:10:27 rational and irrational ideas0:10:29 is incredibly important0:10:32 if this isn't clear we don't are clear0:10:35 about our method0:10:36 of developing ideas0:10:39 then our understanding of how to answer0:10:41 the question does the creator exist i0:10:43 where we came from will also not be0:10:45 clear0:10:47 so we need to understand how to approach0:10:49 this question0:10:50 for instance you'll find many atheists0:10:52 they'll say0:10:53 there's no evidence for god and you need0:10:56 to unpack0:10:57 what they're saying they're not really0:10:59 saying there's no evidence for god what0:11:00 they are really saying0:11:02 is that there is no scientific and0:11:04 empirical evidence for god0:11:06 so this statement therefore has a number0:11:08 of0:11:09 presuppositions or assumptions the first0:11:12 one0:11:13 is that science is the only method of0:11:15 knowing0:11:16 if a matter cannot be directly observed0:11:20 that means the matter at hand does not0:11:21 exist or is unprovable0:11:24 similarly you'll also find many atheists0:11:26 claim that one day0:11:28 science will answer all questions about0:11:31 existence0:11:32 you know we'll get that one theory the0:11:34 general unified theory as some0:11:36 physicists say that will answer all0:11:39 questions0:11:41 uh and where the science is uh so they0:11:44 say these things0:11:45 but we have to ask the questions okay is0:11:46 that statement that science0:11:49 one day will answer all questions is0:11:51 that actually a scientific0:11:53 empirical verb verifiable question0:11:56 verifiable statement in and of itself0:12:00 so many times in my own personal0:12:03 discussions0:12:03 and the debates that i've done before0:12:06 even tackling the question about the0:12:08 evidence for god0:12:09 when a person says there is no evidence0:12:11 for god i have to address the issue of0:12:13 the methodology of thinking0:12:15 is he an empiricist who believes only0:12:17 science can answer all questions0:12:19 or do we expand his mind to understand0:12:22 one0:12:23 what is science its role its limitations0:12:27 the axioms that is built upon meaning0:12:29 the0:12:30 assumptions that it has to accept and0:12:32 then secondly0:12:34 demonstrate that there is other0:12:36 methodologies of thinking0:12:38 the other you know methods by which we0:12:41 can know truths0:12:42 which are not termed scientific or0:12:45 empirical0:12:46 so in the next video we'll dive a little0:12:48 deeper0:12:49 into the scientific method and really0:12:52 analyze what it is0:12:54 and what are the assumptions insights0:12:56 and does0:12:57 it lead to definite conclusive ideas and0:13:04 principles0:13:11 you

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