Epistemological Bias in the Physical and Social Sciences

BIAS FINAL PB 15/3/07 15:47 Page 1 EPISTEMOLOGICAL BIAS he question of bias in methodology and terminology is a problem that faces researchers east, west, north and south; EPISTEMOLOGICAL Thowever, it faces Third World intellectuals with special kee- ness. For although they write in a cultural environment that has its own specific conceptual and cultural paradigms, they nevertheless encounter a foreign paradigm which attempts to impose itself upon their society and upon their very imagination and thoughts. When the term “developmental psychology” for instance is used in the West Arab scholars also say “developmental psychology”, when “applied psychology” is mentioned they hurry to use the same term etc. Why not establish a new science with its own mechanisms, methodologies and points of reference to deal with epistemological biases and open up the gate of ijtihad with respect to them? BIAS This collection of papers aims to discover some of the biases latent Edited By: in our terminology, methodologies, research tools, and conceptual principles, and to propose alternative ones marked by a greater degree of independence and neutrality. This is not to belittle the human value of the West’s creative contributions but to emphasise Abdelwahab M. Elmessiri in the Physical & Social Sciences the danger of making it the ultimate point of reference and then try- ing to continously play “catch up” with it. Cover Design by Saddiq Ali isbn 1-56564-416-6 Cover Photo © Corbis Edited By: Abdelwahab M. Elmessiri £9.95 - €15 - $17.95 the international institute of islamic thought IIIT the international institute of islamic thought bias BIAS Epistemological Bias in the Physical and Social Sciences Edited by abdelwahab m. elmessiri the international institute of islamic thought london • washington © The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1427ah/2006ce the international institute of islamic thought p.o. box 669, herndon, va 20172, usa www.iiit.org london office p.o. box 126, richmond, surrey tw9 2ud, uk www.iiituk.com This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the publishers. isbn 1–56564–416–6 paperback isbn 1–56564–417–4 hardback The views and opinions expressed in this book are the author's and not necessarily those of the publishers. Translated by ahmed el-ezabi shokry megahed ahmed seddik al-wahy Design and typesetting by Sohail Nakhooda, Cover design by Saddiq Ali Printed in the United Kingdom by Biddles Limited, King’s Lynn contents page List of Contributors vii Foreword x Introduction xi 1 The Gate of Ijtihad: An Introduction to the Study of Epistemological Bias 1 Abdelwahab Elmessiri 2 Bias in Western Schools of Social Thought: Our Heritage as the Starting Point for Development 77 Adel Hussein 3 Theories of Political Development: A Case of Biased Discourse in the Political Sciences 105 Nasr M. Arif 4 Modernizing vs. Westernizing the Social Sciences: The Case of Psychology 126 Rafik Habib 5 Bias in Curricula and Course Contents 145 Hoda Hegazy 6 An Exploration of the Nature of Human Artificial Intelligence and the Qur’anic Perspective 158 Mahmoud Dhaouadi 7 Confronting Bias in Third World Culture 174 Ferial J. Ghazoul contents 8 Beyond Methodology: Forms of Bias in Western Literary Criticism 192 Saad Abdulrahman al-Bazi¢i 9 Theories and Principles of Design in the Architecture of Islamic Societies: A Ceremonial Approach to Community Building 218 A. I. Abdelhalim 10 Reflections on Technology and Development: A Cultural Perspective 227 Hamed Ibrahim el-Mously 11 Philosophical Beliefs Underlying the Formulation of Physical Laws 271 Mahjoob Taha Notes 287 list of contributors Abdelwahab M. Elmessiri is professor Emeritus of English literature and critical theory at Ain Shams University, Cairo. He has published many articles and books on various subjects (Zionism, modernism, post modernism, secularism, materialist philosophy, etc). He has also published two collections of poetry and a number of stories for children. One of his most important works is Epistemological Bias published by IIIT in Arabic. The present book is an anthology of the articles published therein. Adel Hussein (d. 2001) was a leading Egyptian intellectual and economic theoretician of world renown. He was the secretary general of the Labour Party, the most important opposition party in Egypt, and the editor in chief of its weekly newspaper Al-Shaab (The people). His book Egyptian Economy from Independence to Dependence, is considered a major contribution to dependency theory and had a deep impact on general economic theory, especially in Latin America. Nasr Mohamed Arif got his Ph. D. from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, in 1995, and is currently teaching there. He has published many articles in several scholarly journals. IIIT published his latest book titled Theories of Comparative Politics and the Methodology of Studying Arab Political Systems: An Epistemological Approach. Rafik Habib is a senior researcher at the National Center for Social Research. He got both his M. A. and Ph. D. from Ain Shams University, Cairo. His research interests and studies are quite diverse (psychology of religion – class struggle – westernization – Christian Zionism). Among his most important works are The Sacred and Freedom and The Nation and the State. viii list of contributors Hoda Hegazy got her Ph.D. from the School of Education at Rutgers University and is currently a professor Emeritus at Ain Shams University, Cairo. She has lectured on the philosophy and sociology of education at various Arab universities. She has also contributed to several scholarly journals and encyclopedias. Mahmoud Dhaouadi obtained his Ph.D. from the university of Montreal, Canada and is currently a professor of Sociology at the Univer- sity of Tunisia. He has published several articles in Arabic, English and French. Among his latest books (in English) are Toward Islamic Sociology of Cultural Symbols and Globalization of the Other Under development. Ferial J. Ghazoul is an Iraqi critic, translator, and professor of English and Comparative Literature at the American University in Cairo. She has published extensively on medieval literature, postcolonial studies, and literary theory. She is the editor of ALIF Journal of Comparative Poe- tics, and the author of an important study (in English) of Thousand and One Nights. Saad A. Al-Bazi¢i is a professor of English and American Literature at the Department of English, College of Arts, King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA. He has published extensively in areas such as: contemporary literary theory, modern Arabic poetry, and the literature of the Arabian Peninsula. He has also acted as editor-in-chief of the Global Arabic Encyclopedia (30 vols), and is currently a member of the Advisory Board to the Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia. Abdelhalim I. Abdelhalim got his Ph.D. in Architecture from the U. C. Berkeley in 1978. Since 1980 he has been in Cairo University, holding a position of Professor of Architectural Design and Theory. Abdelhalim has designed and developed many projects in several places in Egypt and the Arab world, including the “Cultural Park for Children,” designed and built in Egypt between 1983 and 1991, and received the Agha Khan Award for Architecture in 1992. Hamed Ibrahim El-Mously is Professor at the Faculty of Engi- neering, Ain Shams University, and former Director of the Centre for list of contributors ix Development of Small-Scale Industries and Local Technologies and Chairman of the Egyptian Society for Endogenous Development of Local Communities (an NGO). He has also worked in the area of Renewable Material Resources(RMR). He has participated in many international conferences, and contributed to many scholarly journals. Mahjoob Taha (d. 2000) was a leading Sudanese specialist in theo- retical psychics. He lectured at various Arab universities and published various papers in scholarly journals. He was also interested in Islamic studies and made some very important contributions in that field. foreword the international institute of islamic thought is pleased to present this important work on Epistemological Bias in the Physical and Social Sciences. These collection of papers explore in detail an academic issue seldom given attention and largely taken for granted in Muslim academic circles; a near total adoption as well as unqes- tioned acceptance of paradigms, terminologies, and research models that are alien to the socio-economic-religio realities of the Muslim world. Written in a clear and lucid style, the book will benefit both general and specialist readers alike increasing their awareness of the existence of bias and the deep-seated cultural-specific values inherent in alien paradigms. The IIIT, established in 1981, has served as a major center to facilitate sincere and serious scholarly efforts based on Islamic vision, values and principles. Its programs of research, seminars and conferences during the last twenty-five years have resulted in the publication of more than two hundred and fifty titles in English and Arabic, many of which have been translated into several languages. We would like to express our thanks and gratitude to the editor, Professor Abdelwahab M. Elmessiri as well as the translators of the work. We would also like to thank the editorial and production team at the IIIT London Office and all those who were directly or indirectly involved in the completion of this book including, Nancy Roberts, Dr. Maryam Mahmood, Maida Malik, and Shiraz Khan. May God reward them, the editor and the translators for all their efforts. anas s. al-shaikh-ali academic advisor, iiit london office, uk 9 Shawwal 1427 ah / November 2006 ac introduction he question of bias in methodology and terminology is a problem that faces researchers east, west, north and south; how- Tever, it faces Third World intellectuals with special keenness.

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