Two 17th Century Intellectual Giants: A Comparison of Descartes and Al-Rānīrī’s Metaphysical and Scientific Framework: Dua Tokoh Intelektual Abad Ke-17: Sebuah Perbandingan Kerangka Metafizik dan Saintifik antara Descartes dan Al-Rānīrī

Dayang Nurhazieqa Hamzani

doi:10.33102/sainsinsani.vol8no2.459

Authors

Dayang Nurhazieqa Hamzani Jabatan Pengajian Kenegaraan dan Ketamadunan, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33102/sainsinsani.vol8no2.459

Keywords:

al-Rānīrī, Descartes, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of science

Abstract

Abstract: One of the curious instances in history of ideas is the different outcome seen with regards to the intellectual traditions in the West and the Muslim world in the 17th century. In Europe, the mechanistic philosophy of science paved the way for the Enlightenment period and industrialization and one of philosophers responsible for this is René Descartes who charted a new epistemological and metaphysical approach on which modern science stands. However, little mention is placed on the intellectual tradition in the Malay world in the same period where Nūr al-Dīn al-Rānīrī managed to elucidate the holistic metaphysical system of Islam in the Malay Language. In doing this, a scientific spirit is injected into the language and the knowledge tradition of the region. This paper aims to compare and contrast Descartes’ and al-Rānīrī’s intellectual project and seeks to answer the question on why the two projects have different outcome: a secular scientific revolution in Descartes’s case but not in al-Rānīrī’s case. A brief historical survey of these two figures and their times will be attempted followed by a philosophical analysis of their metaphysical-epistemological systems to understand what accounts for their differences/similarities. It is found that the difference was a result of different philosophical assumptions for their framework of science. The paper concludes by drawing attention to the need for a cogent philosophy of science drawn from Islamic metaphysical worldview to prepare Malaysian Muslims for the 21st century, following the steps of al-Rānīrī which did the same in the 17th century.

Abstrak: Satu pemerhatian yang dapat dibuat apabila meneliti sejarah perkembangan idea apabila membandingkan tradisi keilmuan Barat dan Islam pada abad ke-17 ialah hasil yang berbeza yang dicapai melalui tradisi ini. Di Eropah, falsafah sains mekanikal membawa kepada Zaman Pencerahan dan industrialisasi dan salah seorang ahli falsafah yang menyumbang ke arah perubahan ini ialah René Descartes dengan kaedah barunya dalam epistemologi dan metafizik yang seterusnya membentuk asas sains moden. Namun begitu, tradisi keilmuan di Alam Melayu pada masa yang sama kurang diberi perhatian di mana Nūr al-Dīn al-Rānīrī juga turut mempunyai sumbangan dalam menghuraikan sistem metafizik Islam dalam Bahasa Melayu. Usaha ini berjaya menyuntik semangat saintifik ke dalam Bahasa Melayu dan tradisi ilmu di rantau ini. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk membuat perbandingan antara projek keilmuan Descartes dan al-Rānīrī dan mencari jawapan kepada perbezaan ketara antara hasil kedua-dua projek tersebut di mana projek keilmuan Descartes menghasilkan revolusi sains yang sekular tetapi tidak untuk projek keilmuan al-Rānīrī. Tinjauan ringkas mengenai kedua-dua tokoh dan zaman mereka juga akan disertakan dalam kajian ini manakala analisa falsafah akan dibuat ke atas sistem metafizik dan epistemologi kedua-duanya. Ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan asas persamaan dan perbezaan mereka. Hasil analisa ini menunjukkan perbezaan antara hasil projek keilmuan mereka ialah disebabkan oleh andaian-andaian falsafah yang berbeza dalam membentuk kerangka sains mereka. Kajian ini membuat kesimpulan bahawa sebuah falsafah sains yang dibentuk dengan pandangan metafizik Islam amat perlu untuk menyediakan masyarakat Islam di Malaysia untuk abad ke-21.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abdullah, M. Z. (2005). Al-'ilm, Al-maqulat dan Al-hikmah dalam Pemikiran Ulama Melayu: Satu Penelitian Awal. Afkar, 6, 171-192.

Al-Attas, S. M. (1966). Raniri and the Wujudiyyah of 17th century Acheh. MBRAS.

Al-Attas, S. M. (1972). Islam dalam Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu. ABIM.

Al-Attas, S. M. (1986). A Commentary of the Hujjat al-Siddiq of Nur al-Din al-Raniri. Ministry of Culture Malaysia.

Al-Attas, S. M. (1988). Oldest Known Malay Manuscript: A 16th Century Malay Translation of the 'Aqaid al-Nasafi. Department of Publications University of Malaya.

Ariew, R. (2016). The Mathematization of Nature in Descartes and the First Cartesians. In G. Gorham, B. Hill, Slowik, Edward, Waters, & C. Kenneth (Eds.), The Language of Nature: Reassessing the Mathematization of Natural Philosophy in the Seventeenth Century. University of Minnesota Press. https://manifold.umn.edu/projects/the-language-of-nature

Boas, M. (1952). The Establishment of the Mechanical Philosophy. Osiris, 10, 412-541.

Burrt, E. A. (2003, first published 1924). The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science. Mineola. Dover Publications.

Copleston, F. (1994). A History of Philosophy Vol. 4: Modern Philosophy from Descartes to Leibniz. Doubleday.

Descartes, R. (1982, originally published 1640). Meditations on First Philosophy. In J. Cottingham, R. Stoothoff, & D. Murdoch, Trans (Eds.), The Philosophical Wirintgs of Descartes Volume 2 (pp. 1-62). Cambridge University Press.

Descartes, R. (1982). The Principles of Philosophy. (V. R. Miller, & R. P. Miller, Trans.). Kluwer Academic Publishers. (originally published 1644).

Gaukroger, S. (1995). Descartes: An Intellectual Biography. Clarendon Press.

Gilson, E. (1999). The Unity of Philosophical Experience. Ignatius Press.

Grosfoguel, R. (2013). The Structure of Knowledge in Westernized Universities: Epistemic Racism/Sexism and the Four Genocides in the Long 16th Century. Human Architecture: Journal of Sociology and Self-Knowledge, Issue 1, 73-90.

Hamisi, M. A., & Fahm, A. O. (2017). The Intellectual and Spiritual Contribution of Nuruddin Ar-Raniri to Islamic Education in Indonesia. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 3(2), 169-178.

Hamzah, N., Mohd Noor, A., & Denisova, T. (2017). Elements of Islamic History in the Works of Nur al-Din al-Raniri. Jurnal al-Tamaddun, 12(1), 93-106.

Koselleck, R. (2004). Futures Past: On the Semantics of Historical Time. Columbia University Press.

Kureethadam, J. I. (2017). The Philosophical Roots of the Ecological Crisis: Descartes and the Modern Worldview. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Lindberg, D. C. (2007). The Beginnings of Western Science. The University of Chicago Press.

Rosele, Ikhlas, M., Ramli, Anuar, M., Ariffin, M., Farhan, M., Zaim, M. (2018). Al-Raniri's Contributions in Hukm of Zakah in Malay Worlds. International Journal of Academic Research in Business & Social Sciences, 8(4), 876-889.

Roux, S. (2018). From the Mechanical Philosophy to Early Modern Mechanisms. In P. I. Stuart Glennan (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Mechanisms and Mechanical Philosophy (pp. 26-45). Routledge.

Russell, B. (1967). A History of Western Philosophy. Simon & Schuster.

Scruton, R. (2002). A Short History of Modern Philosophy. Routledge Classics.

Uthman, M. Z. (2011). Lata'if al-Asrar li-ahl Allah al-Atyar of Nur al-Din al-Raniri. Penerbit UTM.

Wan Abdullah, W. S. (2003). Towards al-Raniri’s Technical Terms: An Observation on al-Raniri’s Concept of Arabic-Malay Translation. Afkar, 4, 145-168.

Wan Daud, W. M., & Muammar, K. (2009). Kerangka Komprehensif Pemikiran Melayu Abad ke-17 Masihi berdasarkan Manuskrip Durr al-Fara'id Karangan Sheikh Nuruddin al-Raniri. SARI: Jurnal Alam dan Tamadun Melayu, 27 (2), 119-146.