21- WHAT IS
RATIONALISM? WHAT IS IT NOT?
As it is
known, Descartes is the founder of Rationalism and the methodology of
this field. (1)
There was
only one rule in Philosophy until rationalism: To think logically. It was the
rule of Aristotle's logic. According to Aristotle, Intellect and thought are
based on the rule of Logic.
The main
principle of Logic was: Deduction and Induction, which means either reasoning
using general rules or principles to form a judgment about a particular fact
or reasoning using known facts to produce general facts or principles.
In Arabic, it
is called "enfüs-ü âfak" which means to prove the general principles using the
individual facts or to prove each fact using all the facts.
Another name
for it is in French as "Subje and obje", which means "particle (piece,
fragment) and whole ".
To think
logically was the only rule of Philosophy from Aristotle until Descartes.
In other
words, to imprison reasoning in the Rule of Logic and to refuse any thought
that is against the rule of the Aristotle's Logic even though it is
scientific. For example, if a scientist found out a fact as a result of
his thoughts; and if it were proved to be right in practice scientifically, it
would not be accepted as a thought unless it was done according to the rule of
Aristotle's Logic by the philosophers and by the supporters of the Scholastic
Theology (kelâm), which is accepted as a kind of philosophy in Islam.
Rationalism is very strict. The Logic of Aristotle is the rule that cannot be
given up by them so everything is based on it.
(1) Rene
Descartes (1596-1650): He is a famous philosopher and scientist. He claimed
that in order to reach the real knowledge, one should be suspicious of
everything. He summarized his ideas saying, "I think, therefore I am."
Descartes accepts that the concept of God has existed in our minds since we
were born just like the principles of mathematics are based on. According to
him, it is impossible to comprehend and understand such an excellent Existence
with the sensations of man who is not perfect. *By this way, he believes in
the reality of such an Existence who has been present in our minds since we
were born. (The Encyclopedia of Life, the article about Descartes)
Descartes
also founded the methodology and accepted it as the basic rule of thought that
means thinking systematically. He put forward the rule of analysis and
synthesis instead of induction and deduction. (2) Analysis, here, means
dividing something into its separate parts and synthesis is combining the
separate things into a complete whole. In Arabic, it is called as "tahlil and
terkib" which means combining separate parts and re-separating the combined
parts.
Thus, the
Philosophy, developed according to the Logic of Aristotle during the Abbasids,
passed to
Europe
after the 12th century. The Philosophy of Systematic Reasoning of Descartes
took its place after being dominant for two or three hundred years. We see
that there is no difference in principles between the Logic of Aristotle and
the Methodology of Descartes when we study them.
Methodical
reasoning
followed logical reasoning and then Rationalism started after
Descartes instead of the study of Philosophy. Philosophy and Rationalism
helped physical sciences in many ways: They supported experimental
science, speeded up the functions of the laboratory researches and caused the
rising of today's technology presented to humanity. The origin and essence of
the objects and the elements of which they are consisted is learnt by
analyzing matter in this way. Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Arithmetic have
developed by means of it and it is called "Positive Science" in the
literature of the World's Science, which means real and definite experimental
knowledge.
It is true
that the Logic of Aristotle and Philosophy which was developed during the
Abbasids by the Islamic philosophers and by the Scholastic theologians
depending on it, and the scientific discoveries due to them as well as the
Methodology of Descartes in the developing branches of Science, provided a
great supplement in today's Positive Science. This is true! The main reason of
the great development of today's technology is the principle called as
"analysis and synthesis" and introduced by Rationalism.
However, if
we use and apply the principle of "analysis and synthesis" to Mind and
Philosophy, we put the intellect in the inconvenience of the laboratory
experiment same as the principle of logic that belongs to “the Logic of
Aristotle” forces the intellect.
(2) Rene
Descartes, "Discourse de la methode" (Speech on the method)
This makes
the free thought of Intellect to be limited by the strict rules of Logic and
Methodology because reasoning according to Logic and Methodology and calling
it as Rationalism and Logic means to inconvenience the Intellect and thought.
Unfortunately, Rationalism has dominated philosophy and mind for years in
Europe and “metaphysical” realities are tried to be explained according
to the principles of Logic and Methodology due to it.
Yet, human
mind (Intellect) can only think about and search the physical world. It is
able to solve the realities of the physical world only and it has been
continuing to solve them.
It is
impossible for the intellect to solve the Metaphysical (Spiritual) Realities
on the point of which the physical world ends. It has not solved them so far
because Intellect has a capacity, a limit. It does not have the
power of understanding and solving the infinity or metaphysics.
Kant,
(3) who noticed this inconvenience of Intellect, started to examine
particularly the intellect itself and he made a critic of it. After Kant, a
new way of thinking began in Philosophy and the idea “Intellect can solve
everything" was given up. The strict Rationalism was made such a taboo
that it was claimed that there was no other means of reasoning except
Intellect to know the realities. Just at this point, Kant criticized
Intellect and said that Reasoning could not solve the Philosophical
realities of Metaphysics, and Intellect was unable to solve the “Absolute
Truth”. He added that a great deal of facts would remain as “mysteries” for
the Intellect.
(3) Immanuel
Kant, (1727-1804): He is a well-known German Philosopher. He completed his
first book called "the Critique of Pure Reason" in 1781. It is accepted as the
most important philosophy book in the last two hundred years. (Encyclopedia
Life, from the article about Kant)
The
metaphysical realities are the essence, the origin of the Creation (nature and
all the objects), the description of the inner world (metaphysical world), the
Angels, Spirit, Paradise etc. It is a fact that it is impossible to comprehend
and solve all these realities using the partial intelligence and the partial
intelligence confuse reasoning and cannot exceed the guesses and hypothesis in
spiritual and metaphysical matters and this will force and confuse mind as
well.
In Europe,
this strict and extreme Rationalism have been prevented by Kant with "The
Critique of Pure Reason" and by Hegel with his "Scientific Dialectic".
Rationalism
is valid until where the matter ends. Intellect has no right to mention
metaphysics. It is about time we explained it as follows: (4)
Intellect is
able to solve and has been solving everything, which is material-physical.
It has the capacity of understanding, solving and explaining the subjects
about the visible world whereas it cannot reach a definite judgment and
knowledge in metaphysical matters.
Intellect is
unable to know the concepts and qualities of the Metaphysical realities
such as Spirit, Angels, the Heavens etc. as well as God and His attributes. It
cannot solve the Absolute Truth because God did not give this power
(capacity) to human mind (the partial intelllect that human beings have).
Because of this, He sent His “Divine Message” to human beings so as not
to be deprived of the spiritual knowledge and to know “His Existence with His
attributes and the metaphysical World”. He assigned this duty to the Perfect
Man who bears the Holy Spirit and who were called as "Great Mystics or the
Devout ".
(4) For
further information see also "Islâm'da Mezhepler ve Yükseliş (Religious Sects
in Islam and Ascending)" (The chapter about Sufism, Theology and Philosophy in
Islam" 1988- İzmir, distributed by Doğan Distribution in Malatya-Türkiye
Those who
bear this Holy Spirit are also named as "Prophet, Messenger, Apostle, Wali -
“the Friend of God- and guide". (5) God sends His Divine Messages by means of
these great people and informs us about the metaphysical realities. When these
divine messages and books are studied and read, we meet very important
opinions and facts. We come across very important subjects about the physical
and metaphysical worlds in the Koran, in the Bible (Gospel, the Bible), in the
Torah and in the Psalms of David (Zabur). We also receive "Divine Messages"
from the Disciples and Islamic Sufis apart from 28 Divine Messengers. (6) We
should not ignore the poems, the wise sayings and the writings of some
Christians Mystics and Islamic Sufis about the origin of the Creation and
metaphysical subjects.
None of the
philosophers considered the book "Füsus ül Hikem (The Bezels of Wisdom)"
written by Muhyiddin-i Arabi as unimportant. Ibn-i Arabi is also an extreme
Divine Messenger. He did not accept the role of Mind (Logic, Intellect) on
Metaphysical subjects but he constantly emphasized that only the Intellect,
which had a contact with the Universal Intellect or the person who had the
Holy Spirit, could solve these realities. All the Sufis and Muhammad
Ghazzali (7), who used to be a philosopher but then he chose the path of
Sufism, claim that Metaphysical realities can never be solved with
Methodology, Intellect and Logic without the role of the Holy Spirit.
Some of the
Western philosophers agree with it. They accept and confirm that the mysteries
of nature have not been solved yet and it is impossible to solve them using
the partial intellect, and the Absolute Truth cannot be learnt with an
ordinary mind. Descartes also accepted it.
The fanatic
supporters of Aristotle Logic (Aristotle Logicians) and Descartes Methodists
(who are called as rationalists in the Literature of Philosophy) are more
rationalistic than Descartes used to be.
(5) "The
Spiritual guide who is the Friend of God (Wali)" (Al-Kahf, 17)
(6) See: 28
Prophets mentioned in the Koran,
(7) See: "El
Minkuzu min ed Dalâl-From Corruption to the Spiritual Guidance”
Descartes,
who founded the Method of Rationalism, accepted that the metaphysical
realities, the Reality of God and the Absolute Truth could not be solved with
this practical intellect. (8)
Those extreme
rationalists
claim that all the physical and spiritual theories and principles as well as
“the Absolute” Truth can be known with the partial intellect and they
say that there is no other way of learning the physical and metaphysical
realities except using Logic and Intellect.
What they
want to do is;
They try to
convince that spirit does not exist, there is no reality that the Holy Spirit
knows and there cannot be any Divine messages. They deny the Prophets who are
the Divine Messengers, the books of God and also the opinions, ideas or the
knowledge of the Great Scholars and of the Religious Guides based on
revelations and discoveries. They call all of them "dogma” and ignore them.
They refuse all the Divine Messages and the knowledge in the Holy Books or in
the books of Sufis even though they are scientific and in accordance with
science, practice and intellect. They cannot be "rationalists". Those who
understand "Rationalism" in this way are the "materialists" who deny God, the
Holy Messages of God (Divine Words and Divine revelations) and also the
Prophets together with the Scholars of Sufism who are also the Divine
Messengers.
They are
particularly the simple materialists who are the noisy advertisers of
“Rationalism” in Türkiye. The materialists who study and read a great deal are
not as rationalist as they are because they are at least fair to say
openheartedly that the Holy Books and the works of Sufis contain interesting
ideas and scientific subjects. On the contrary, the simple materialists who
chew the word "rationalism" in their mouth like a gum keep saying:
rationalism, rationalism, rationalist…, but then they utter no reasonable word
or write any books. The only thing they do is to repeat the word rationalism
at the beginning of their sentences. They are the creatures whom Ziya Pasha
described as: "Lots of fools who think they are clever." (9)
(8) See the
six metaphysical opinions of Descartes
(9) A lot of
fool, who think they are intelligent: Rationalists
These simple
materialists confuse Intellect with Rationalism and cause an agitation of
concepts. According to them, you refuse Intellect if you are not a rationalist
in all the matters. In fact, rationalism is an expression used after Descartes
and it is the Methodology of Descartes, which means thinking systematically in
every subject. They are the Cartesians, even more Cartesians than Descartes
himself, who claim that all the realities of Physical and Metaphysical matters
and the Absolute Truth can be solved with this partial intellect.
They are the
keen supporters of the Doctrine of Descartes same as the old Aristotle
Logicians, who used to be more logical than Aristotle was.
The Koran,
Sufism and all the Divine Messengers say that the partial intellect is able to
solve the Physical Realities but Metaphysical Realities can only be learnt
with the "Universal Intellect-The Spirit". The Koran explains this matter very
clearly in the sixth verse of Chapter "Rum":
"That is
God's promise; God will never break His promise. Yet, most men do not know
it.” Most men
(who have the partial intellect) know of the visible part of the
life of the world (the physical part of the Creation).Yet, they are
unaware, heedless, ignorant about the other world (metaphysics).”
The above
verse clarifies the Intellect in man. Allah explained everything in the Koran
and revealed His Divine message to the Prophet Muhammad, who is the writer of
the Koran, and this great Divine Messenger transmitted this reality to
humanity.
Every fair
person should feel at least a little respect for the Prophet Muhammad when
this verse is read and studied carefully.
(10)
(10) See
Muhammad -Jesus -Adam
KAZIM YARDIMCI/ADIYAMAN
varliktanveriler@hotmail.com
bilgi@varliktanveriler.com
www.varliktanveriler.com
