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Asalaamualaykum warahamtullah

A (paraphrased to the best of my memory) question and answer from last Thursday’s RLS 390 Class (Religion and Science) with Professor Chittick:

Student: It seems as if the author of the book (Forgotten Truth), [Huston Smith], has a bias against scientism - Is this his view?

Professor Chittick: Well if it isnt evident from this book, he makes it perfectly clear that he is biased against scientism in many of his other books and talks.

Student: Do you think there is anything wrong with vieweing science as religion?

Professor Chittick: (After a short pause…) Do you think there anything wrong with being blind?

Student: As long as it isnt me who’s blind

Professor Chittick: To think that the worldly level of exisitence, that which can only be measured in numbers, or that which is only quantifiable in our own terrestrial surroundings is all that exists in the world is living a life oblivious to everything else that exists. You are basically discrediting to all other levels of reality including those that go beyond our sensible world (into the higher levels of the heavens and above), and those deep within ourselves (into our mind, soul, and spirit) . Science cannot measure one’s soul or spirit! When one holds science as his religion, you discredit all of these levels of reality; levels of quality that cannot be measured in numbers and only are limited in see ing the external world around us and remain blind to the higher levels of the self and the heavens beyond the earth.

(something like that - i apologize for the professor worded it much better than the narration above:) )