external – Fountain Magazine https://fountainmagazine.com Sun, 01 Nov 2020 18:14:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 The Existence of God https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2020/issue-138-nov-dec-2020/the-existence-of-god/ Sun, 01 Nov 2020 18:14:20 +0000 http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2020/issue-138-nov-dec-2020/the-existence-of-god/ The Existence of God

Kalam Cosmological Arguments of Huduth and Imkan in light of Modern Scientific Discoveries

Humankind has grappled with the questions surrounding God, life, and creation for as long as we can remember (Gülen 2006, 3-4). Historically, philosophers and theologians have sought to produce systematic and rigorous arguments to rationally prove the existence of the Divine through the means of logical deduction (Gök 2018, 10). One such argument that has been synthesized is that of the kalam (the Islamic theology), a cosmological argument which has provided a historical and modern basis for those seeking to validate the existence of God (Gök 2018, 10-13). This argument has come under particular examination in contemporary circles where modern scientific discoveries are seen to both challenge, and support, the existence of God and hence establish a valid basis upon which to argue either case. This essay will thus seek to discuss the validity of the kalam cosmological argument, and its subsets, in relation to two modern scientific discoveries: the Big Bang theory, and the concept of virtual particles.

The kalam cosmological argument consists of two subset arguments: the huduth (cosmological) argument and the imkan (contingency) argument (Craig & Moreland 2009, 101-102). Historically, notable Muslim theologians, such as Imam Al-Ghazali, utilized this argument as a testament to the proof of God’s existence (Copan & Craig 2017, 5-7). Within the modern Western philosophical and theological context, this theory has been refined by the works of William Lane Craig (Waters 2015). Regarding the huduth (cosmological) argument, Craig summarised the premise of the argument as follows: the universe either had, or did not have, a beginning; if the universe had a beginning then it was either caused or not caused; if there was a cause then this was because of an external and powerful being (Doko 2018). As can be inferred, the argument is based on a question of origins, causality, and in regard to the two preceding arguments, validating that the cause of the universe is external.

In assessing the validity of the huduth argument, the Big Bang theory can be utilized. In modern science, the Big Bang theory has been established as the leading paradigm for the origins of the universe (Paulson et al, 2015). The theory purports that the universe, and all that is contained within it, had a singular starting point whereby from this singularity, the universe has been inflating for what has been calculated as 13.8 billion years (Gonzalo 2008, 207-240). The first premise of the huduth argument is one of origins. The Big Bang postulates that the universe was derived from a singular starting point, with the key being that it indeed had a starting point. Scientists have been able to calculate the age of the universe through utilising data obtained through calculation and observation (Paulson et al, 2-3). In knowing that the universe has an age, and therefore a beginning, one can thus logically deduce that it must have had a point of origin. This complies with the first component of the huduth argument in that the universe indeed must have had a “beginning,” thus validating the first premise.

The Big Bang theory also complies with the second premise of causality. It is accepted by scientists and philosophers alike that in order for an effect to manifest itself within the natural world, there must be a cause to bring about the effect (Rabins 2013, 6-25). Upon accepting the first premise that the universe had a beginning, the universe itself must, therefore, be the manifestation or effect of a preceding cause. Though models such as Stephen Hawking’s “no-boundary-proposal” have been theorized to provide contradictory explanations for the causation of the universe, these have been later disproven by physicists (Wolchover 2019). In this regard, the notion that the universe came into existence without a cause is not logical, thus validating the second premise of the huduth argument.

The last premise argues that once it is accepted that the universe has a cause then this cause must be an external, all-powerful being. Studies into the observed universe are based largely on natural laws and observations that are measurable (Paulson et al, 2-3). Any cause beyond these natural laws of the known universe would thus be “unnatural” and potentially Divine (Ergi 2015). Though the multiverse theory has been proposed as an alternative to a transcendent, external being, the fact still remains that there logically must have been a first universe with an external cause that would then cause the proceeding universes that follow. As such, the third premise of the huduth argument proves itself to be valid, thus validating the argument as a whole.

In addition to the Big Bang, the theory of virtual particles can be used to attest to the validity of the huduth argument. Virtual particles are quantum fluctuations that shift between observed existence and non-existence (Daywitt 2009, 27-28). Historically thought to be empty and full of “nothing,” the vacuum of space has been theorised to contain these finite particles [16]. Through calculation, virtual particles come into existence with a measurable beginning and not out of what appears to be nothing (Jaeger 2009, 144). Physicists have conceived that the particles themselves are in fact not independent, rather that they rely on other quantum interactions and certain laws of physics in order to manifest (Falkenburg 2007, 258-260). In this regard, they have a beginning point of origin. As such, they can be seen to comply with the first premise of the huduth argument. Though virtual particles do appear to come in-and-out of existence there are a number of causal factors that must provide the right conditions for their appearance such as the vacuum-like conditions of interstellar space, the interactions of surrounding “real” particles as well as the mass of these “real” particles (Falkenburg 2007, 58). It is thus perceivable that the particles are caused by several factors and do not come into existence out of non-existence without a cause which adheres to the second premise. The third premise of the huduth argument points to an external cause or creator. As was argued above, virtual particles have a cause and this cause is external to themselves. They cannot create themselves from nothingness and manifest due to the interactions of the real particles around them, which give rise to conditions that are conducive to their appearance. As such, this complies with the logic of the third premise of the huduth argument, as virtual particles require external causes in order to come into existence. Thus, the validity of the huduth argument holds firm when applied to this concept.  

The example of the Big Bang Theory and the concept of virtual particles can also be used when assessing the validity of the imkan (contingency) argument. This argument posits that everything that exists is either necessary or contingent (Ergi, 9). When classified as contingent, it is postulated that something can either exist or not exist, and that if it does exist then this existence is dependent upon factors that are external to it (Gülen 2006, 3-4). The idea that creations within the known universe are contingent is logical, as it can be deemed that nothing exists without a cause (Doko 3-4). In this regard, it is possible to say that contingent items within the universe, including the universe itself, are dependent upon that which is “necessary” and outside of themselves (Yaran 2003, 181-187). The Big Bang Theory provides a solid basis on which to assess the validity of the imkan argument. Everything within the universe originated from that moment, thus the universe is perceivable as having temporal existence (Walles 2016). In being a temporal entity, it is thus contingent on a cause that is external to itself. It would seem illogical that time, space, energy, and matter created themselves as they are contingent elements devoid of consciousness and reliant on physical laws hence would not have been able to exist beyond the Big Bang prior to it occurring. As such, the universe, being contingent and unable to necessitate its own existence, must have been created by a necessary agent. Though this necessary agent has been speculated to be a preceding universe, such as in the multiverse theory, this would propel reality into an infinite regress, a chain of causes contingent on the one before it, a notion deemed to be implausible (Yaran, 181-183). Accordingly, these multiverses would also have to be temporal in disposition and hence the same issue of an eventual point of origin manifests. The logical conclusion is thus that the necessary agent must exist beyond what is known, namely a transcendent being that is beyond temporality and materiality, and thus the logic of the imkan argument is valid.

This principle is similarly seen within the example of virtual particles. These particles are observed to come in-an-out of existence within the vacuum of space (Jaeger, 144). However, this activity is contingent upon necessary conditions, such as the existence of the vacuum itself, quantum interactions based upon the uncertainty principle, as well as surrounding real particles (Greene, 424-425). If any of the aforementioned factors were not present then the existence of virtual particle would only be a probable outcome and not a necessary outcome, similar to that of the universe, in a way that these particles do not necessitate their own existence and are dependent on an external and necessary cause. In this regard, the concept of virtual particles demonstrates the validity in the logic of the imkan argument thus demonstrating the validity of the kalam cosmological argument.

The success of whether an argument is logically valid can be assessed based on the plausibility of the premise presented by the argument (Doko, 4). As is evident, the kalam cosmological argument has been examined with a discussion of its two subset arguments. These arguments have been contrasted against the two scientific discoveries of the Big Bang Theory as well as the concept of virtual particles. Evidently, by its very nature, the kalam cosmological argument is based on sound deductive logic where both its branches contain premises that reach their respective conclusions using logic and rationality. As such, the kalam cosmological argument proves itself to be valid and this has been exemplified by superimposing the matrix of this argument onto real, modern-day scientific discoveries.

REFERENCES

]]> Trying to Understand the Reasons behind Violence https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2020/issue-134-mar-apr-2020/trying-to-understand-the-reasons-behind-violence/ Sun, 01 Mar 2020 17:35:14 +0000 http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2020/issue-134-mar-apr-2020/trying-to-understand-the-reasons-behind-violence/ Trying to Understand the Reasons behind Violence

Violence. It surrounds us. It is all over the media. It is so common in our society today that violence has become the norm rather than the exception. Perhaps one out of every ten people in the United States have experienced or witnessed a violent crime. Psychology Today states that homicide is the 5th most common cause of death in the United States in all age brackets between 1 and 44 years. Violence to one’s self, in the form of suicide, is ranked second only to death by accidental causes. As violence is a behavior, it is common to lay the blame for violence to a psychological abnormality. Unfortunately, that is not the cut and dried case.

The potential for violence exists in all of us. It is part of our biology. Especially in males. Men are far more predisposed to violence than women, and this has been the case since the dawn of time. We were violent to hunt for food, protect ourselves and our families and to maintain order in society. As we can see, violence is still required today to do much the same thing.

Everywhere, we see the potential for violence. In how the police keep the peace, in how the military defends politics and diplomacy across the globe. In how one group seizes property, or food, or people against their will through the use of violence.

While we are predisposed to violence as a species, let us not forget that we haven’t brought ourselves to the point of extinction yet. This is because for all of our violent tendencies, society has developed a moral structure. Whether it’s because of a common belief in a spiritual concept, a religion, or just some inner moral compass, society has evolved with laws. These laws guide us through what is right and what is wrong. Such an evolution has brought some structure to societies, and has maintained some control over humanity’s violent aspects.

While yes, psychology is part of the equation of violence, there are other determining factors that make a person more predisposed to violence. For instance, it has often been discussed that environment, and external influence play a large part in violent behavior. A person who grows up in a violent environment, or around violent people may be more apt to be violent themselves. This can be seen across the United States where people grow up, and live in rough neighborhoods. Young impressionable people tend to go with the flow in order to be accepted by the elder violent natured individuals in their society. Observing aggressive behavior makes children learn new aggressive behaviors, for we tend to imitate the specific behaviors that we see, and start to believe that it is OK to do the same (Bandura 1973).

Influences in that environment could be a constant state of war such as we see in developing countries. It could be gang members who recruit younger people through coercion, or exposure to violence. It could be any number of hate groups who are able to influence people, imparting to them at a young age that one race or another is inferior, or to blame for something. In doing so, such groups are able to convince people that an ethnic group is deserving violence. So it can successfully be debated that environment, and external influence, are definitely keys to violent behavior.

There are others who argue that it is only biology that is the defining factor regarding violent behavior. In an article for Medical News Today, the author writes that the Hypothalamus, the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus, and the Lateral Septum areas of the brain are specifically to blame for violent behavior. Biology can be a factor to understand violent behavior in relation to build-up of electrical impulses that finally get released in a physical expression. But it surely does not help to explain exactly why these impulses get built-up.

In my opinion, I believe it is a combination of factors. I am United States Air Force veteran who has deployed to numerous locations where violence is common, and then spent time as a contractor there. From my exposure to these other cultures, I can say that I believe that environment plays a large part in violent behavior along with external influence. The more people are fed the idea that violence is acceptable, the more they are inclined to exhibit violent behavior.

It is true though that biology is really the tie that binds all of us into a predisposition for violence. Studies have shown that any person placed under enough negative mental stress will react violently to the situation they are in. In effect the Fight or Flight response is triggered. This is because regardless of environment, influence, or predisposition, we are all human and are all hardwired in the same way. Violence is a product of the Fight or Flight response. When presented with a given situation imbued with enough negative mental stress, we will either fight or run. Factors such as environment and influence will either mitigate or exacerbate our response.

To make matters worse, the ingestion of certain drugs such as amphetamines can produce states where the individual is more prone to be violent. The same can be said for alcohol, which is notorious for lowering impulse control. If the condition is chronic, then the individual will become violent over and over again. Again this is a matter of an external influence.

Now having said that, there are certain people who argue that psychology is the only defining factor. According many health professionals, mental illness is widely considered the principal cause for violent behavior.

People with psychotic tendencies who have no real sense of right or wrong are certainly more predisposed to violence. This is especially so in Paranoid Schizophrenics, where people come to believe they are being persecuted. They may then attack the person they believe is persecuting them. The same can be said of people who are sexually deviant. Often they will perform violent acts against other people to satisfy a psychological need. However, there is a standing argument that sexual deviance is a product of both environment, and the individual being a victim of sexual violence themselves. Therefore, potentially, sexual deviance is a result of environment and negative external influence.

The trend of violence in today’s society has reached epidemic proportions. In violent riots, people may act out violently because people around him or her are acting violently. It is perceived as normal to do so in such situations in which peer pressure, an external influence, lowers an individual’s self-control, thus allowing for violent behavior.

A child with a history of parental abuse kills small animals for the sheer enjoyment of doing so. The child has experienced violent behavior and is looking for an outlet to express his or her own violent tendencies. Once the child knows he or she has an outlet, they will continue to find ways to express their violent tendencies. The concern here is that as this person gets older, the need for release will need to be satisfied to a greater degree. Much in the way a drug addict needs larger and larger doses to maintain a high.

A soldier acts out violently on numerous occasions. He has a string of prior violent actions before joining the Army. Because of his violent tendencies, he is more accepted as a soldier. In such a situation, where violence is considered the norm, a person with a predisposition to violence could function for years before anyone caught on that they were actually emotionally disturbed.

A man with an automatic rifle walks in to a church and opens fire, killing dozens of people. Perhaps he has a deep seated hatred for an ethnic group. Or perhaps he has an issue with the religion being preached in the church. What is disturbing is that he has convinced himself over time that his actions are acceptable. He has decided that it is right to render violence to other people.

We see so much violence now that we have become jaded to it. Oversaturation of the topic by the media has made us numb to the violence in our society. We have in fact come to expect it. This is because the media knows that bad news sells better than good news. This is another example of external influence.

It is therefore my opinion that yes psychology does play a part. So does environment and external influence. When these three factors are combined with the fact that we are by nature, and biology violent creatures, the predisposition for violence increases exponentially. A word of caution however in stereotyping people who, based on these factors, are predisposed to violent behavior. We are all capable of violence. It merely depends on the situation we find ourselves in at a given moment in time.

References

  • Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

·       Fields. R. Douglas. 2016. “The Science of Violence,” Psychology Today.

]]> Moderation as a Way to Address Prejudice https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2013/issue-91-january-february-2013/moderation-as-a-way-to-address-prejudice/ Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2013/issue-91-january-february-2013/moderation-as-a-way-to-address-prejudice/

Of all the faculties and senses that man is endowed with, moderation is one of the most essential virtues. Moderation concerns all people within society, and can become an unattainable virtue unless all members of society have gained a sufficient level of straightforwardness in their thoughts and actions. That straightness of conduct can only be sustained if a sufficient number of people in that society understand, desire and practice the virtue of moderation.

John B. Watson and his colleague conducted an experiment if an emotion could be generalized from one subject to another subject similar to the first. He targeted a baby, called Little Albert, who had no fear of small furry animals like white rats at that time. To carry out their hypothesis, Watson and colleague presented a white rat for Little Albert to play with. But after a while, the researchers made a very loud disturbing noise whenever Little Albert attempted at reaching for the white rat. After several times the researchers paired the loud noise with Little Albert’s attempts at reaching that white rat, a time came to the point where Little Albert was scared of the animal on its own—without the loud sound. From that on, Little Albert generalized his fear to anything furry, including non-white rabbits and dogs. (Watson & Rayner, 1920)

From early years of childhood, we have directly and indirectly learnt how an excess and shortage of anything could be undesirable. No matter who an individual is or where he or she comes from, that individual knows that eating too much can cause a bloated feeling, eating too less can harm health, talking too much could hurt others, and so does not talking at all. Moderation is such a universal virtue that every individual from every religion, ethnicity, and background knows that a life lived in moderation always reaps the most benefits.

Not just on trivial daily matters, moderation can address any issue that has significant relations to human life. Moderation is related to healthy lifestyles, satisfactory life outcomes, healthy relationships, and many more. But one aspect of humankind that is faced everyday—yet it seems to be ignored most of the time—is the mindset, way of thinking, or the cognition. We can have times when there is a “shortage” of the mindset, but more problematic is the instances when some individuals choose to adopt an extreme way of thinking.

Consider the case of Little Albert above, because of one tragedy Little Albert generalized his feelings and fear that anything furry was scary. Probably because that white furry rat seemed to produce such a loud scary noise, Little Albert thought, “so, anything furry MUST be scary too…” This is one example where way of thinking can be extreme. Moderation does not seek to moderate this extreme way of thinking, rather it seeks to moderate way of thinking generally so it is not as extreme.

How moderation is related to prejudice

As mentioned above, moderation can address many issues, and this includes prejudice. Prejudice is defined as the way we see others—the social orientation that is based on a membership of a particular group (Brown, 2010). To understand prejudice, one has to note that prejudice comes from a generalized attribution or characterization (or what is commonly known as a stereotype). Prejudice is the emotional aspect of stereotypical thinking. Like Little Albert, the infant generalized his prejudice to anything furry, and although Albert’s reaction to those furry objects was dramatic, our modern prejudicial reaction is usually more subtle and hidden.

In relation to the issue of prejudice, moderation is synonymized to being fair-minded—a way of thinking that employs the middle point between two extremes. Prejudice is, in its basic form, a way of thinking that is located in one extreme. The extremity comes from the aspect of generalization of prejudicial mindset in its beholder’s way of thinking. But where do these thoughts come from? People’s tendency to generalize their observation of a trait of a person to his or her group members always comes from the external sources.

One study supported the notion that people obtain prejudicial thinking from external sources (Aboud, 1976). The research method involved asking participants to seek information on three fictitious groups. Prior to seeking information, the participants were shown statistics of certain traits related to these groups. This was done to “set” the minds of the participants on the traits that were more likely to be shown by the members of these groups. Consequently, when seeking information on the groups after shown the statistics of the groups, the participants were more likely to “confirm” what they had been told from the statistics, allowing a generalization to occur in their mindset.

Availability heuristics and their role in prejudicial thinking

Why do humans generalize more than they should, or at all? Perhaps it is because of the information they can readily and superficially obtain from the target of their prejudicial thinking. Stereotypes are always something people can see directly, such as weight, skin color, and intelligence shown through behavior and many other characteristics. These sets of readily available information seem to be more important because there is one type of heuristics, availability heuristics that is present in the human mind to help them judge on frequency or probability (Tversky & Kahneman, 1973).

To understand heuristics, consider the two images below that we come across very often. How do you know which gender is which symbol? The existence of heuristics allows us to manage this world in a more simplified and helpful way. Society uses symbols that represent certain group of people to give certain information. No matter where we are, our brain is integrated with the understanding that “skirts” are something only women would wear—it is how, by using that heuristic, we know that the first symbol tells us that it is a women’s place, or belongs to women, or can only be used by women—depending on where we see the symbol.

Heuristics are tools to help people make a cognitive decision on something such as deciding who someone is, if he or she is a righteous person, or what leads to a particular event, or how a certain event happens. Availability heuristics is the tool used to make a judgment when it comes to the frequency of probability that something occurs to that particular target. For example, one may judge the traits of people in community A, after seeing the behavior of a few members of community A. Availability heuristics help people simplify judgment to the most simplified information they can get in mind, and that information can come from various sources, such as a personal experience like the one in the Little Albert case, and others like the statistics given in the study described above.

Availability heuristics can be useful in some situations, such as estimating voting behavior in an election period, or predicting divorce cases for a particular year, but sometimes it has a negative consequence. Prejudice partly comes from the use of availability heuristics and blind “compliance” to such judgment. In this case, availability heuristics are a form of excess of the use of limited information offered to the human mind prior to judgment because blind belief to such heuristics can lead them to generalize. This is an extreme way of thinking that would go against the very nature of moderation itself.

Labeling and availability heuristics

Availability heuristics can be so powerful that sometimes people do not even realize that it is affecting their way of thinking. This is due to the excess use of labeling to simplify and categorize objects. Labeling affects human judgment and interpretation toward something or someone (Jussim, Nelson, Manis, & Soffin, 1995). Labeling is one of the sources of availability heuristics because labeling comes from the traits of physical attributes that people see from the individuals that they label. For example, individuals are labeled as doctors after they are seen wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around their neck, or a man is labeled as dangerous when walking in the dark with a hooded jumper on. Once labeling happens, individuals who conform to the traits and physical attributes that resemble the labels are stereotyped and these stereotypes become the readily available information to serve as a tool to form availability heuristics.

Labeling is not all inaccurate, but the negative consequence of labeling happens because people are too focused on the external traits of a target of the label. People seem to readily judge that a person in a white coat is a doctor, or that a man who has a hood on while walking in the dark is dangerous. These are all the external qualities of the person in a white coat and the man with a hood that people focus on to make a judgment, and eventually they have prejudicial thinking against these targets.

When discussing the topic of faith, Benjamin Franklin said, “Faith is confirmed by the heart, confessed by the tongue, and acted upon by the body.” This definition of faith is in parallel with the definition given by various religions. It emphasizes the importance of both external (confessing and acting upon) and internal aspects (believing) of spirituality. One cannot have one aspect without the other. Moderation involves professing your faith internally, such as believing and keeping your motivation, and externally, such as taking care of your appearance in line with your faith, and being concerned about what you say and do. This means that you do not just focus on either one aspect alone, but prove your stand by maintaining your faith, internally and externally.

In relation to prejudice, labeling happens due to focusing more on the external aspects of traits, like the group members’ appearance, behavior, and even intelligence (as it can be seen from their way of thinking and speaking). But we often neglect to remember that there are interior aspects of those individuals—the aspects that are dismissed from the factors of being labeled. These interior aspects can be different across individuals, thus labels alone could not make an entirely accurate judgment on an individual.

Conceptual frameworks of the relationship between moderation and prejudice

As discussed, prejudice comes from many factors that are not in line with the concept of moderation and this can be prevented by allowing the right way of thinking to be our habit. Moderation is a middle pathway to prevent prejudice. One way to do so is by understanding that while the outside of a person can tell something about him or her, the inside parts can be important too. Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual framework on how moderation can address prejudicial thinking.

Figure 1 shows a continuum of the way of thinking with moderation in the middle and “indifference” and “prejudicial thinking” on each extreme end. Prejudicial thinking, in one extreme, focuses only on the external aspects of a group of people, by which the aspects are used to make a judgment if the group is “good” or “bad.” These judgments are then used to make a generalization. On the other hand, indifference is shown when people have a neutral attitude; too much of it that they do not care about what is happening around them.

Moderation is located in the middle. It is neither prejudicial nor indifferent. People with a moderate way of thinking consider both the external and internal qualities of individuals to make a fair judgment. Each judgment is different across individuals because he or she knows that even if an individual belongs to a certain group, that individual does not have to be the same as the other members of that group. People with a moderate way of thinking know that tolerance needs to be exercised whenever needed, without any unfairness to any individuals who belong to a certain group of people.

Conclusion and a suggestion

When making a judgment or decision on a target’s attribution, it is important to examine the extent to which heuristics or the person’s dependence on readily available information—also known as availability heuristics—affects their judgment. Heuristics can be useful to help people organize, manage, and simplify their thoughts, but it should be supervised so that it is only used in moderate levels. Whenever one feels the need to make a quick judgment, he or she should break it by “educating” the self. Educating the self in its simplest form can be to ask, “What if I am judged that way? Would I like it?” By educating yourself, you make a psychological and mental reminder that to quickly judge means to unfairly treat that individual, which is something you would not want happen to you.

Another way to hinder the potential formation of prejudice is to empathize. By putting yourself in the target’s own shoes, you will be able to see how unfair stereotypes can be to a particular individual. Self-serving bias is a social cognitive error in which you are more likely to view positive events as a result of your own doing and negative events as the consequence of an external factor (Miller & Ross, 1975). This is viewed by psychologists as an error in thinking about other people, but interestingly, this can actually help in reducing prejudice. Prejudice can occur because you fail to attribute a person’s behavior or trait fairly, because he or she is simply another person you cannot relate to. Therefore, by empathizing with a person, you would more likely start to view that behavior through your own lens. By doing that, “self-serving bias” can begin and that is equipped with the ability to also consider your own internal attributes. Therefore, there will be a balance between focusing on internal aspects because it is you, and focusing on external aspects, because it is others.

Moderation is indeed a virtue that can help us develop and grow as a well-adjusting human being. By employing moderation in every aspect of our lives, we can see that moderation can address almost any issue, including prejudice. Moderation is the middle and the most proper pathway of thinking.

Taufik Mohammad, PhD, is a senior lecturer in Universiti Sains Malaysia.

References

  • Aboud, F. E. 1976. The effect of stereotype generalization on information seeking. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science , 8, 178-188.
  • Brown, R. 2010. Prejudice: Its social psychology. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
  • Jussim, L., Nelson, T. E., Manis, M., & Soffin, S. 1995. Prejudice, stereotypes, and labeling effects: Sources of bias in person perception. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 228-246.
  • Miller, D. T., & Ross, M. 1975. Self-serving biases in the attribution of causality: Fact or fiction? Psychological Bulletin, 82, 213-225.
  • Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. 1973. Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 4, 207-232.
  • Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. 1920. Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal
]]> The Wonderful Octopus https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2012/issue-88-july-august-2012/the-wonderful-octopus-july-augst-2012/ Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000 http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2012/issue-88-july-august-2012/the-wonderful-octopus-july-augst-2012/ Taking its place among the world’s short-lived mollusks, the octopus is a fantastic sea animal with intelligent behavior. Despite its smooth and soft skin, it has a hard beak and its tongue is like a file. They can move fast by bringing about a current of water (jet propulsion) by means of an extension under their heads resembling a funnel. They spray water to increase their speed while hunting. Due to this special ability, these creatures implement a backfiring force like a rocket. Octopuses can make sudden maneuvers and curves by forward-backward motion and spraying water.

Octopuses are equipped with a very powerful sensing system in addition to their sharp vision. For example, an octopus whose vision is obstructed can sense the size of objects and the distance between them. Regulation and synchronization of vision is realized with internal and external movement of the lens contrary to human beings. When it faces a threat, the octopus releases dark blue-black ink and tries to repel its enemy. Immediately after the spray, its color changes and it carefully leaves that spot. The secretion glands found in the inner face of the bladder have been programmed to secrete ink the moment the animal becomes frightened. Another function of the ink is to blunt the attacking animal’s sense of smell. Even if the animal touches the octopus at this time, it cannot recognize it.

Another striking and important ability given to the octopus is its ability to camouflage. In some situations it tries to protect itself from danger by hiding itself with this capability. If it has not been able to find a suitable place to hide, the octopus swims among the corals and, taking on the color and shape of its surroundings with the help of color cells comprised of richly colored matter (chromatophores) found under the skin, it camouflages itself perfectly.

At first glance the suckers of an octopus are no different from suction cups vacuum pressed onto smooth surfaces. However, in reality this organ is more complex than it appears to be. This organ was not created just for the purpose of sticking on objects. By means of muscles unique to it, the octopus is able to make various maneuvers.

There are approximately 200-250 suckers in two lines on each arm of the octopus. This means there are approximately 2 thousand suckers on its eight arms. There are two small chambers on each sucker. The external chamber is called a cone and the internal one is called a pot. When it sights its prey, the muscles of the external cone take the shape of the surface of the prey and completely cover it. The muscles of the internal pot structure are full of water and, disconnected from the outside world, decrease the inner pressure. This difference from the outside pressure has the effect of a vacuum. The external muscle structure enables the octopus to turn from an erect or parallel angle by decreasing the pressure difference around the object and without destroying the functional structure of the sucker.

In addition to possessing the complex muscle structures explained above, the suckers have an amazing nerve system. The chemical receptors found on the edge of the suckers (chemo-receptors) give feedback regarding the taste of the object, and the pressure and position receptors give information regarding pressure and touch. The nerves of these receptors, gathered in a node, act as a tiny brain. The chain structure extending the length of the octopus’ arm connects the suckers and nodes and synchronizes them. This structure enables the animal to lift and raise its arms without need of a command from the main brain. How this amazing task is accomplished by the brain, arm and suckers is a subject that needs investigation.

Only considering its suckers, the octopus appears before us as a creature adorned with perfect artistry and special capabilities. The characteristics of these animals being in a wise and most appropriate form is one of the clearest proofs of the blessings and benefaction of a compassionate and merciful Creator.

Canoglu is a freelance writer from Turkey with a degree on zoology.

]]> Interpreting Dreams https://fountainmagazine.com/all-issues/2000/issue-29-january-march-2000/interpreting-dreams/ Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000 http://107.21.79.195/all-issues/2000/issue-29-january-march-2000/interpreting-dreams/ INTRODUCTION

Before giving information on dream interpretation, it is necessary to expound on the issues of sleep and dreams, because without knowing the essence of dreaming, no appropriate interpretation is possible.

What is dreaming? What constitutes its core? Is it the peculiar images seen during sleep, which is said to be like a temporary death? Why and how we dream is an unsolved mystery. Since the creation of humanity, philosophers and scholars have tried to explain dreaming, but none of them have demystified it completely. And so the subject continues to attract people’s interest.

Some basics of dreaming are the following. A dream is a vast metaphysical world that is also related to the Hereafter. Feeling this relationship is possible if people undertake the necessary emotional cleanliness and spiritual purification practices. If they do not do so, they live in a state of unawareness and thus cannot understand the subtle realities presented in dreams.

The fact that many Qur’anic verses and Prophetic hadiths mention dreams means that Muslims should pay attention to them. The narration of the Prophets’ dreams and their interpretations in the Qur’an, as well as Prophet Muhammad’s statement that dreams are the doors to spirituality, indicate that they contain a crucial type of knowledge (‘Ilm).

THE REALITY OF DREAMING

According to some scholars, the essence of dreaming consists of traces left on the shared sense (hiss-i mushterek) that descends from one’s imagination. Philosophers assume that this shared sense is not one of the five basic senses.

In addition, people have a nafs-i natika(1) a “spiritual intellect” that is the perception itself. This intellect perceives what is happening around it, but its preoccupation with bodily activities hinders it from reflecting upon knowledge related to the Unseen (ghayb).(2) During sleep, the burden of the five senses is lightened, which enables this spiritual intellect to receive ghayb-related knowledge from the metaphysical world. Then it turns to the body. Since it is located within the body, it becomes bound by corporeal things and can function only via bodily faculties. The spirit transmits what it perceives from its world to the faculty of the imagination, after which one’s imagination describes and pictures this information in an appropriate manner and presents it to “the shared sense.” The sleeping person feels as if he or she is actually seeing those things. This is a partial explanation of dreaming.

Now, let us dwell upon the matter of sleep during which dreaming takes place.(3)

SLEEP AND DREAMS: A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

It is generally believed that an adult needs an average of 8 hours of sleep a night. However, researchers point out that the need for sleep differs from person to person: babies need about 16 hours, while elderly people show a great variation from the average. In addition, some people dream frequently while sleeping; others wake up frequently.

The actual cause and function of sleeping is not understood completely. Allan Rachtschaffen, a sleep researcher at the University of Chicago, states that sleep has no active function for the body. Despite the reduction in muscular fatigue and weariness, the body does not actually need sleep to renovate itself for our cells can restore and mend themselves under any condition. According to recent research, the human body does not have to undergo this renovation process to be in a passive condition or a sleeping mode. Electroencephalograms (EEGs) administered during sleep detect no such passive activity in the brain. According to Dr. Evans, a psychologist at England’s National Physics Laboratory, Computer Science Section, the main purpose of sleeping is to allow a person to dream.

Dr. William Dumont, a doctor at Stanford Medical Center, Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Division, claims that dreaming is very important, for dreams help to maintain the body’s physical balance.

Dr. Colin D. Hendrigh of Stanford University writes that all organs perform systematic movements and activities at different times and various rates, and to extents that are specific to them. These changes, which are the rhythms’ highest and lowest levels, are different for every person. Physical activities reach their peak at midday and their lowest level at dawn.

Dr. Franz Halberg introduced the term circadian for changes that occur regularly on a 24-hour basis. Physical balance can be maintained by the rhythmic changes in accordance with time.

When the organs’ rhythm is the most inadequate, we feel sleepy. The first period of sleep, the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) state, is the most tranquil state for the body. Breathing is regular and quiet, and EEGs show that all mental activities are normal and orderly. Snoring occurs in this period.

The active sleeping state is the rapid eye movement (REM] state. Here the body is steady, except for irregular facial muscle and fingertip movements. Breathing becomes irregular, which leads to a continual rhythmic oscillation between slow- and fast-paced breathing. There is no snoring in this state. Some researchers claim that the REM period is not a part of sleep, but rather a kind of epileptic fit. REM sleep usually lasts for 1.5 to 2 hours, and NREM and REM cycles range from 70 to 110 minutes. On the average, they are expected to last for 90 minutes.

People who are spiritually depressed feel relaxed as long as they are not in REM sleep, for this is the state in which dreaming usually occurs. Many people cannot avoid REM sleep, however, even if they take sedatives or soporifics designed to block it either partially or entirely.

The first REM period of sleep lasts for about 10 minutes. As the night passes, REM periods might last longer, sometimes even as long as an hour. We dream, regardless of this period’s duration, but usually forget what we have dreamed when we wake up. (Researchers wake sleepers and ask whether they dreamed or not in order to record the dreams.)

During dreams, many details are removed from our memory. Usually we remember dreams consisting of nice and pleasant meanings and suggestions. If we were to recall all of our dreams, we would stay under their influence during the entire day and be unable to use our senses.

If there were no REM period, people would wake up for 10 or 20 minutes every 1 or 2 hours, instead of sleeping through the whole night. Experiments indicate that people deprived of REM sleep show psychological, spiritual, or bodily disorders. Other experiments show that when people deprived of REM sleep are given soporific drugs, they have longer REM periods. Ernest I. Hartman states that human beings need constant NREM periods with variable in-between REM periods. In other words, everybody has a constant period of NREM sleep, but REM periods vary from person to person.

“Long sleepers” are mainly those with demanding manual jobs or those who work long hours. If they do not sleep properly, they face problems in various aspects of their lives, are unhappy and constantly complaining, and have neurological problems. On the other hand, people with a romantic or artistic nature sleep to escape from society.

We cannot change our sleeping habits. If you cannot sleep for more than 6 hours, it just means that you only need that much sleep. The 8-hour average is just a generalization used in scientific circles, and thus is not supposed to apply to everybody.

DREAMS: A SPIRITUAL APPROACH (Part I)

Ibrahim Hakki of Erzurum, in his Marifetname, writes:

Ahl Allah (people who have proximity to God) said that: “The spirit has two windows for the world of Barzah(4): sleep and inspiration. In dreams, sometimes a person sees future happenings directly and sometimes in symbols. The latter should be decoded. If the sensory organs are closed to the physical world, and the internal mirror (the heart) is clean of all evil and polished, spiritual beings and unknown writings in theLawh-i Mahfooz(5) can be reflected and seen in this mirror. But if the senses are occupied with the material world and the internal mirror is rusty, the spirit cannot view the world of Barzah. Rather, it becomes busy with images left in the memory from the five senses. When a person dies, however, the spirit can view the metaphysical world and learn about the world of the Unseen (ghayb), for the senses and the body can no longer serve as obstacles. By inspiration, people can learn many previously unknown things. But if their hearts are not clean, they will not recognize and understand the actual source of these inspirations” (Marifetname, pg. 581). WT

Ibn Khaldun devotes a portion of his book al-Muqaddimah (Prolegomena) to dreams:

“A dream is a spiritual activity that consists of seeing and observing the forms and shapes of entities reflected to the spirit from the Unseen (ghayb) after the spirit enters into the metaphysical world during sleep. When people are awake, they do not contemplate their spirituality, for they are occupied with their carnal and physical functions. Thus they forget the information reflected from the Unseen. Since people reduce their connection with the flesh and physical existence while asleep, they become spiritual entities somewhat like other spiritual beings and, when they turn toward the world of the Unseen, can observe angels and other ethereal beings [lateef entities(6)]” (Bayram, 33).

The bond between body and spirit, merely a connection, becomes ideal during dreams. With this development, the human spirit becomes an incorporeal being and can perceive without the help of the body and the sense organs. In this state, the human spirit is lower than an angel, because an angel’s perfection comes from its nature and creation. As an angel’s intuition or cognition never develops, it cannot improve itself. However, as long as the spirit inhabits a physical body, it can develop and grow in metaphysical understanding. This ability can be classified into two groups: special (belonging to the saints in the form of gifts) and general (found in everybody in the form of contacting the Unseen).

The spirits of Prophets are purely spiritual, for they transcend the body. This state is the highest rank of spirituality. Its onset could be observed whenever a Prophet received Revelation, for his

body’s perceptive faculties would enter a dozing-like period different from regular sleep. In reality, sleeping is greatly inferior to such a state. Concerning this state, the Prophet said: “The (good) dreams of a believer are one part of the forty-six parts of Prophethood (Al-Bukhari, vol. 9: no. 116). Some Muslim scholars interpret this hadith as meaning that when the Revelation began, it was in the form of dreams for the first 6 months. (His Prophethood lasted for 23 years in total, and so the first 6 months would constitute l/46th of this period.)

A Prophet’s dreams are not ordinary, for they come true exactly as they are seen. All Prophets had dreams in the first stage of their Prophethood. This only indicates the association of dreams to Prophethood, not the reality of dreaming to the essence of Prophethood, of which dreaming constitutes only a small part. In addition, it is an innate human ability that allows us to reach spiritual and unseen worlds. The smallness of this fraction (l/46th) contrasts the relationship of this common ability to dream with a Prophet’s ability to contact spiritual and unseen worlds.

Contacting these nonmaterial worlds is very difficult, although it is a general potential for human beings. Many obstacles prevent us from making the best use of this ability. The first one is the external senses. God made sleeping an innate and natural characteristic and state of mind so that we could bypass, temporarily, these external obstacles. During sleep, one can try to understand the reality behind events and also have some of his or her concerns addressed in dreams. For this reason, Prophet Muhammad regarded dreaming as a harbinger. He said: “Nothing is left of Prophethood except al-mubashshirat (harbingers, glad tidings).” His Companions asked: “What are al-mubashshirat?” He replied: “The true, good dreams (that convey glad tidings). Only pious people and you have such dreams” (Al-Bukhari, vol. 9: no. 119).

The nafs-i natika can perceive and think only via the human spirit, for they are tied to each other. Creation, through combining and synthesizing physical elements, prevents ethereal entities from influencing material objects. Since the human spirit is both ethereal (lateef) and located within material entities, it needs a means (the nafs-i natika) through which it can receive the stimuli of material things. The nafs-i natika, which fulfills this function, acts within the human spirit and has both internal and external perceptive abilities. Internal perceptions come through the brain’s faculties, while external perceptions come through the five senses.

These means of perception, despite their innate abilities, inhibit the perception of metaphysical realities. The external senses, which are all corporeal, are used by the nafs-i natika so often that they become exhausted and require sleep to rest.

Even though the spirit can leave the body, tired senses inhibit the nafs-i natika from perceiving metaphysical realities. God implanted within the spirit a desire to depart from the material realm, as shown by its turning from the external senses toward the internal senses. As the night’s coolness helps this departure, the body’s natural heat withdraws deep inside the body and the spirit, which causes the nafs-i natika to ascend to the spiritual realm. The human spirit remains inside the body. This is why people fall asleep.

When the human spirit leaves the external senses and supervises the internal faculties, the nafs-i natika’s tasks are alleviated. This reduces the obstacles to its ascent, which allows it to deal with sensory images. Imagination engenders virtual figures by synthesizing and analyzing sensory images, because the carnal soul perceives, observes, and becomes mostly accustomed and familiar with these figures. This is the basic habit of the nafs-i natika. After this, the collective sensory powers, which gather all external sensory perceptions in the brain, observe those images as if they were actually perceived with external senses.

During sleep, the spirit does not deal with internal or external powers. Rather, it grasps its spirituality as if it were a physical perception, and acquires information about the Unseen. The human spirit then submits these images directly to the imagination, which either accepts them totally or puts them into resembling shapes (symbols). Dreams that result from the latter process require interpretation, for the meaning is not immediately clear. If the nafs-i natika analyzes and synthesizes the images acquired through external senses and hidden in its memory with what it perceived from the Unseen during sleep, the dream is confusing and mixed up.

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet says: “There are three kinds of dreams: those inspired by God during sleep, those from angels, and those inspired by Satan” (Al-Bukhari, vol. 9: no. 144). This does not invalidate the above argument. Dreams that need to be interpreted are from angels, while confusing and mixed dreams come from Satan. The latter are beguiling and erroneous.

Most of our dreams are neither deliberate nor intentional. When one’s spirit focuses on the Unseen world to learn the hidden reality about itself or something else, the reality of these things may reflect on it instantly, and the subjects of concern may become clear. If this is not the case, the spirit cannot see and observe whatever and whenever it wants to during sleep.

Medieval Islamic literature records many instances of pre-Islamic Arabs relying on soothsayers who also dealt with dream interpretation. For example, Shiqq (from the family of Enmer bin Nizar) and Sutayuh (a descendent of Mazun bin Garsan) were well-known soothsayers. Sutayuh had no bones in his body, except for his skull, and so could be folded like cloth.

The most well-known stories about these soothsayers are Shiqq’s interpretation of Rebia bin Muzar’s dream heralding the Abyssinian invasion of Yemen, and Sutayuh’s interpretation of the famous Persian scholar Mubezan’s dream. Chosroes of Persia sent ‘Abdulmesih to ask Sutayuh to interpret Mubezan’s dream. Sutayuh said that it foretold the coming of a new Prophet and the destruction of Chosreos’ kingdom (Bayram, 38).

‘Abdulgani an-Nablusi states, in light of Qur’anic verses and the Prophet’s hadiths: They shall have glad tidings in this world and in the Hereafter (10:64). According to some Qur’an interpreters, glad tidings in the earthly life means dreams about a person regardless of who dreams; glad tidings in the Hereafter means seeing God.

The Prophet said: “One who does not believe in true dreams does not have a sound belief in God and the Resurrection.” ‘A’isha, the Prophet’s wife, stated that: “The commencement (of the Divine Inspiration) to God’s Apostle was in the form of true dreams in his sleep, for all of his dreams turned out to be true and clear as bright daylight” (Al-Bukhari, vol. 6: no. 478)

The Prophet once told Abu Bakr as-Siddiq: “I dreamed we were climbing up some stairs, but that I was two steps ahead (of you).” Abu Bakr interpreted this as follows: “O Messenger of God, after God raises your soul to heavens near Him and grants you His Compassion, I will give for another 2 1/2 years” (Bayram, 38).

Your Lord will approve you (Yusuf) (as in your dream) select you and grant you the knowledge on interpretation of dreams (12:6), and 0 my Lord. You have indeed bestowed on me (something of) sovereignty, and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams and events… (12:101). According to these verses, God granted the knowledge of dreams to Yusuf (Joseph).

to be continued…

FOOTNOTES

  1. Nafs-i natika is the faculty of the soul that is responsible for thinking and talking.
  2. Ghayb means hidden, secret, or unseen. It is usually used for the metaphysical world, as in ‘alam-i ghayb (the Unseen world). Here, we translate it as “the Unseen.”
  3. This section is borrowed from an article of Mr. Ali Toker, published in Kopru (The Bridge) magazine. (See also references.)
  4. Barzah literally means precipice, chasm, or abyss. In Islamic terminology, it is the period between one’s death and resurrection. It refers to the place between this world and the Hereafter, or sometimes the world of the dead.
  5. Lawh-i Mahfooz literally means a protected or preserved tablet. In Islamic literature, it means the Tablet preserved in God’s presence and contains His decrees and the destiny of all creation. It is a title for Divine Knowledge.
  6. Lateef literally means soft, intangible, and pretty. In Islamic literature, it means something nonmaterial, incorporeal, and impossible to see with the eyes, and a type of being that is less dense than physical entities. We translate it as “ethereal” to indicate this peculiarity.

REFERENCES

  • Bayram, Ali and M. Sadi Cogenli. Ruya Tabirleri Ansiklopedisi (The Encyclopedia of Dream Interpretations). Istanbul: 1993. (Toker’s article, originally published in Kopru, is borrowed from this source.)
  • Hakki, Erzurumlu Ibrahim. Marifetname (The Book of Wisdom). Turkey (then Ottoman State): 1756 (compiled and simplified by M. Faruk Meyan. Istanbul: 1993).
  • Al-Huseyni, Sayyid Suleyman. Kenzul Menam. (Treasures of Sleep). Istanbul: 1340-41 AH.
  • Ibn al-‘Arabi, Muhyiddin. Tabirname-i Muhyiddin ‘Arabi (The Book of Dream Interpretations by Muhyiddin Ibn al-‘Arabi). Istanbul: 1270 AH/1854 CE.
  • Ibn Sirin, Muhammad. Muntehabul Kalaam fi Tafsiiri’l-Ahlaam. (The Selection of Words for Dream Interpretations) Egypt: 1359 AH/1940 CE.
  • Ivadullah, Ahmed as-Sabahi. Delil-u Tafsiri’l Ahlaam. (The Evidence of Dream Interpreting). N.p.: 1974.
  • . Tafsiirul Ahlam min Vahyi’d-Din ve’l-Ilm. (Dream Interpretations in Religious Revelation and Knowledge). N.p.: 1974
  • Miras, Kamil. Sahih-i Buhari Muhtasari Tecrid-i Sahih Tecumesi ve Serhi. (The Authentic Translation and Commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari) Istanbul: 1972.
  • Suleyman, Avanzade M. Muabbir Yahut Yeni ve Mukemmel Tabirname (The Interpreter or New and Excellent Book of Dream Interpretation). Istanbul: 1329 AH/ 1913 CE.
  • Tabirname (The Book of Dream Interpretation). Istanbul: 1274 AH/1858 CE.
  • An-Nablusi, Abdulgani. Tatir-ul Enam fi Tabiri’l Menam. (The Beautiful Fragrances of Sleep with Dream Interpretations). Egypt: 1359 AH/1940 CE.
  • Unal, Nurettin and Hekimoglu Ismail. Ilimde, Teknikte, Edebiyatta, Tarihte, Dinde Ruya ve Tabirleri (Dreams and Their Interpretations in Science, Technique, Literature, History, and Religion). Istanbul: 1982.
  • Al-Zahiri, Halil b. Shahin. Al-Isharat fi ‘Ilmi’l-‘Ibarat. (The Signs for the Science of Symbols) Egypt: 1359 AH/1940 CE.
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