Evolution, Creationism and Richard Dawkins vs. the Much-Smarter

I have the kind of mind that does not let me be.  (And what does that say for the science of the brain, that I am unable to gather myself into one stream of thought?)  I'm sitting on my delightful mattress of a sofa, right by the lamp, absolutely plowing through a wonderful book that I only just picked up from the library today.  But I cannot bring myself to feel fully comfortable and relaxed in reading until and unless I get these thoughts off my chest.  Sometimes I think I should devote myself to building a giant library, and advertising every single book in my collection, because anytime I read anything, I want immediately to tell everyone I know about what I've read: It will be a library, fused with Twitter.  This may also explain why I am sitting home alone on a night.  

So, let me tell you what I so ache to tell you.

Earlier today, I was wandering through the Columbia University bookstore.  I happened to start flipping through a couple magazines, and I believe it was Newsweek, though don't quote me on that.  In this magazine, I found an article by Richard Dawkins, this one a modest essay claiming that evolution was an unassailable fact, motivated by this fact: the vast majority of Americans refuse to accept either evolution without a higher being, or evolution as a method of creation, even with that higher being thrown in.  Not surprisingly, Dawkins was very annoyed.  I find him annoying, because I believe he is not a very deep thinker, though he has convinced himself he is.  Unfortunately the tragedy of the loss of a classical curriculum is that those who study science do not study metaphysics, and those who study the material world do not understand how no materialism can exist without a prior metaphysics.  In this case, it is much like listening to media that insists it is purely objective, when many moons ago we had realized that objectivity is impossible.

Nostalgic segue: When I started at New York University, and mind you this is about 11 years ago, I had wanted in part to study physics, if not for a major then for a minor.  Largely I was interested more in the theory behind quantum physics, the questions of time and existence that are raised by the most recent discoveries in that field, for which reason it is not surprising that my interest soon shifted to philosophy.  Nor I suppose should I be surprised that now, 11 years later, I am preparing a potential dissertation which would focus on the Indian Muslim philosopher Iqbal and his ideas of time, the secular and the social.  In all things, we are consistent, if not redundant.  What I mean to say is, I regret that I have not been able to keep up with a passionate interest in science that equaled my fascination for history, culture and politics when I was younger.  That is the cost of specialization of course.  So I am no expert in science, but I can see that much of the argumentation behind the theory of evolution is deeply problematic.  Certain scientists are attempting to solve metaphysical problems, to answer questions of faith and worldview, and so excessively rely on ideas which have not been fully or properly considered.

And so, it is a rare and wonderful thing to find a book which devotes itself to the limits of science, to the inherent circularity to our belief that the world has spontaneously generated beings who are capable of understanding how the world was spontaneously generated.  The very strangeness of believing in a universe that simply burst into existence and in the tiniest fraction of a second exploded in size by an order, by a multiple, of the hundreds of thousands if not millions, makes me wonder how such people -- such as Dawkins -- can dare consider a believer in a higher being to be stupid or childish.  One of the best books I have read on this is The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions, which sadly is hard to find in bookstores as well as libraries.  The book I am now reading is titled Why Us? How Science Rediscovered the Mystery of Ourselves, and written by medical doctor, James Le Fanu.  What a pleasure it has been to read this book.  Mind you, I am only a third of the way through...

...But his language is so clear and fine, his examples so engaging and intriguing, and his content so deeply moving, even at times spiritually refreshing and surprising.  It is clear you are reading the work of a person who feels deeply connected to his subject matter, and that enthusiasm spills out of each paragraph.  I love reading this kind of book, which is informative, which is provocative and which is a delight to enter into.  Not only conceptually, but aesthetically as well: the quality of the paper, the appropriateness of the font, the texture of the page, all come together to produce a very hospitable experience.  A book should be like any other destination, in that on arriving, one feels oneself drawn in.  I have a not inconsiderable distaste for books that are published poorly, that showed poor judgment in fonts or layouts or the like, such that sometimes I find I would much rather be reading a book on a topic I care little about so long as it is simply of a higher quality.

All this to say: read the book.  Tell everyone you know about it.  I can say with full commitment that this is one of the very few books I have read that has inspired in me a moving feeling of awe before the divine.  When we say, in Islam, that we should have "taqwa," I take this to mean that we should have awe for the awesomeness of the Lord.  That we should be so astonished by the scale of His creation, and our place within it, that we are both humbled and exalted, made to feel small and yet to feel as if the world is a stage upon which we must prove ourselves.  Made to feel insignificant, yet gifted by God with the ability to investigate into the very origins and processes by which a universe, whose size can barely be imagined, emerged and sustains us.  It is a fact that many times the most moving books for a Muslim is not written by Muslims, and this is one such case.  I fear the author does not take -- shall I say does not have the full confidence -- to follow himself to where his arguments are so obviously leading, but one cannot read this book without feeling oneself somehow different, and in fact closer to the reality of things.  So, yes, read this book.

And never buy into the very simplistic logic by which a materialist view of the world is presented as if it is final, conclusive and normative, when the presenter himself or herself has no idea of the metaphysical leaps that are required in order to believe what is being believed.  I use my words very carefully.  (At least, I like to think I do.)

Comments

[Omar]

Never too late to study physics, I don't think. While I was a physics major, I personally grew satisfied after reaching Serway's Modern Physics:

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Physics-Raymond-Serway/dp/0534493394/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254840176&sr=1-10

Needs some prior knowledge, however (Thomas Calculus, and a book on Calculus based Physics). With this prior knowledge, Serway's Modern Physics is an excellent introduction to Quantum Physics and Special Theory of Relativity. It takes an historical approach to teaching it, talking about the sequence of important experiments and their theoretical implications. I didn't reach the last chapter, which mentions the Big Bang theory. I think, in total, this is only 3 semesters of learning... understanding the concepts by applying the problem-solving is the most important part of Physics education. Also being able to understand the math symbols beyond a superficial level is important.

[abdulatif]

Subhanallah, as usual what a great post. Hey, why don't you put up permanent booklist on the side of your website, like the way you have links to other blogs and the current recommended reading list on the sides? I will most certainly benefit from it. Consider it? Thx.

[Haroon N]

thanks for the reading suggestion! I started reading 'Why Us' just tonight - i feel like i've become too much of a cynic after finishing 'empire of illusion', this book should help bring me back to the center.

[Fatima]

That was delightful to read. I will definitely check this book out. Jazak Allah Khair.

[Term papers]

Really great article like always definately read this book..wait for the next post..!

[Nike Air Max]

This gives us a tool to better investigate this brain circuitry and try to figure out more drugs that do the same. We are trying a couple of compounds right now on animals but it is at a very preliminary stage.