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
Keywords:
al-Rānīrī, Descartes, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of scienceAbstract
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.
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