IBA Talk: History Mother of Social Science
Channel: Asad Zaman
Date: 09/03/2023

{writeup: bit.ly/AZiba23} Talk at IBA explains how historical experiences of European have shaped their thoughts. In particular, a century of religious wars led to European rejection of religion as a basis for organizing society. This led to the development of secular social sciences - the attempt to organize society without any internal moral foundations. These ideas were spread around the globe through conquest and colonization, and continue to be perpetuated via Western education. The shock and awe of Western accomplishments in the physical sciences has led to unquestioning acceptance of the social sciences as being equally valid. However, the social sciences share nothing in common with the physical sciences except the label of "science". Rejection of God leads to focus on pursuit of pleasure, power, and profits, and the conception of life as a jungle of fierce competition governed by survival of the fittest. This is radically different from an Islamic conception of society. In the Islamic world, we must reject the Western social sciences, and replace them by Islamic templates for constructing a good society. Some efforts in this direction are indicated in the talk.