Here is the second part of the Reasonable Doubts interview with Taner Edis. The first part dealt with Islamic pseudoscience and the differences between Islam & Christianity. This looks at the complexity of treating Muslims and Islam as a monolithic entity. Then there is an excellent discussion over Sam Harris and his severe criticism of Islam. Edis here is spot on in pointing out some sloppy scholarship in Harris' chapter on Islam in his book, The End of Faith, and other problems with his approach. Check out the full podcast here - the interview starts a few minutes into the podcast (also wait till the end for a hilarious news story dealing with a statue of Jesus).Update: On the topic of Islamic Creationism, here is an article by Taner Edis in the January 2008 newsletter of The History of Science Society: Islamic Creationism: A Short History
(thanks to Don)
Hi Salman,
ReplyDeleteI thought it would be good to include a link to Edis' essay in the latest History of Science Newsletter for those who haven't yet got a copy of his book. The title is "Islamic Creationism: A Short History".
http://www.hssonline.org/publications/Newsletter2008/NewsletterJanuary2008Creationism.html
Which reminds me: are you going to be pursuing that research direction, astronomy, or something completely different over the summer? I'll probably be in Massachusetts somewhere, and I'm looking for projects. Send an email if you think I could be helpful.
Thanks for the link - its up on the blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm on Sabbatical leave for next year so I will have plenty of time for research (hmm...can't wait for the end of this semester). There are two science & religion projects that I will be pursuing: The work on Islamic Creationism, and on the controversy over telescopes on Mauna Kea, HI. Your help regarding Islamic stuff would be tremendous! Lets chat more over e-mail.