7. OBJECTIVITY

 

 

We have seen that the notion of Objectivity for Science arises from the dichotomy between mind and matter. Mind, it is thought, is within man and subject to his manipulation and, therefore, his ideas are regarded as subjective. Things, in contrast, are objective, if they possess inertia and resistance to the mind. Objectivity is, therefore, identified with matter. They must be external to the individual and common to all observers. It must be verifiable by its repeatability and by confirmation from others. A consensus of opinion must be obtained. Since it is the mind which connects things together into systems, the object can be regarded as a separate independent entity. The whole is the result of the sum of the parts and not the other way round. According to this attitude, objectivity means that the observer should be detached from the object he observes. He is not responsible for what he searches for, how he interprets it and what is done with his discoveries.

This view ignores the fact that consciousness is itself a fact underlying knowledge; that all experience, being affects on the mind and interpretations of sensations, are subjective; that many events only take place once; that there are such phenomena as mass hallucinations or illusions; that things are identified and perceived according to the current concepts, methods and language; that people differ in their intelligence, capacity for sensation, perception and conception; that information arises from the reactions of the environment to the kind of activities we do; that attention depends on the interests we have; that we organise data into systems according to motive; that science is a human activity, the result of the interaction of man with his environment, having human purposes, and cannot exist without these.

The Western idea of objectivity depends on an argument something as follows:-

I experience things. Therefore, I exist and the things exist. I am, therefore, the judge of what exists. This experience causes a division between the experiencing subject, I call mind and the object of experience I call matter. My mind is free to imagine anything I want. The object, however, exerts compulsions or constraints on my mind. Therefore, it exists outside my mind. The greater the number of times I experience the same thing the greater is the likelihood that it is not in my mind but external to it. Other people whom I also experience as external to me are like me. If they experience the same constraints then it is confirmed that the world exists outside their minds. I need this confirmation in order to distinguish between what my mind produces and that which exists outside it. If, however, the object of experience also changes, then I must find a cause for this. As I do not experience Allah or God, He needs to be proved to exist.

There are several fallacies here. (a) It is assumed, but not proved, that there is a deterministic relationship between the external object and the experience in the mind. (b) We do not, in fact, experience the experiences of other people. they may be as dead as any other object we experience. If we attribute the capacity to experience to them, then we might as well attribute it to all other objects. (c) It is not true that the mind is free or that experienced phenomena always persist, do not vary or always constrain the mind. These are unwarranted assumptions. (d) There is a contradiction between the ideas that a persistence in the mind requires us to find a cause, while it is changes in the object which require a cause.

 

We can see that an experience causes a division into three factors not two - namely, the subject, the object and the experience which connects the other two. There is, therefore, an over all Unity before experience begins and that the same three factors continue to exist. Reality consists of all three. It is the experience which is in the mind not the subject or object of the experience. We ought, therefore, to examine how these experiences come about.

Knowledge refers to experiences and has the following properties:-

(a) It exists in the mind as images

(b) It undergoes a process of development.

(c) It is not independent of our motives and actions.

(d) It implies a certain necessity or compulsion which distinguishes it from pure fantasy, illusion or lies.

(e) All knowledge exists in a present which is itself a period divisible into past, present and future.

(f) The direction of the development of knowledge is the reverse of the direction of the development of the universe - we see the particular and superficial first and then proceed towards the more and more universal and fundamental while the universe proceeds in the opposite direction. The material universe moves towards increasing entropy or disorder while knowledge proceeds in the direction of increasing order.

 

The Universe is not uniform or static but has several levels and changes with time. These changes must be regarded as potentialities in the Universe, which themselves depend on still higher levels of potentialities. If Time is a dimension and yet has a direction, and the processes of nature as well as our life shows forces, urges and purposive action, then we must suppose that cause and purpose are the same. If we see events as being driven by the past, then we have causes, but if we see them as driven by the future, then we have purposes or will, but they always act at a Now Point. We do not experience the past or future, but only the now point. The past and future exist in our imagination. The imagination, we must suppose is knowledge of the future. If the images in the mind correspond to real things than it should reproduce the processes which these things undergo. But if they do not then we have fantasy which should be distinguished from imagination.

It also obvious that images in the human mind undergo several stages, from unconscious processes to sub-conscious ones, to vague ideas, to more detailed ones, to plans, to physical actions, and finally these images may be given a concrete form and a material existence. Man has created many things and the material planet itself is being transformed by man. The physical future is being created by these images. It is not, therefore, the case that the mind is completely separate from matter. This series of events is not different from what happens in the real world and is only a special case of it.

 

The Islamic view of Objectivity arises from the following arguments:-

1. There is an ultimate Objectivity greater than and independent of man, and, therefore, of his experiences and opinions. This is Allah, the Absolute.

2. Unity - This is integral to notion of ‘Allah’. All things derive from a single source. All things, including man are, therefore, dependant on the initial cause and are in a state of interaction with each other. There is a greater whole to which they belong as parts, from which they arise, on which they are dependent, and with respect to which they have a function. Nothing can be fully understood except with respect to this Ultimate Unity.

3. Human beings and their faculties (cognitive, affective as well as conative) have arisen by the materials, forces and laws of the Universe, and in association with, and by adaptation to it. and by the tests which interaction with the world provides. Thus human life itself has a meaning only with respect to the rest of reality in which human life arose and with respect to which life has a function. This, too, follows from the notion of ‘Allah’.

4. Human beings interact with their environments. They receive an input from the environment, process it and create an output. This refers to materials, energy as well as information. There is a transmission of information through them. They are an organ of the world. Knowledge as well as motivation and action depend on this. These three are interconnected.

5. The welfare, harmony and development of human beings depends on the correct development and functioning of their faculties, for cognition, motivation as well as action. 

6. Since human beings exist in interaction with their world, their actions affect the reactions of the environment and vice versa. Knowledge depends on how human beings think and what they do. This depends on their motives and values.

7. Human beings have a built in desire to benefit and fulfil themselves. All actions, including the pursuit of knowledge, have this purpose.

8. However, human faculties can be distorted. This can happen owing to accident, disease, habit, conditioning or attachment. 

9, Knowledge depends on awareness. It is not something created by man, but is a revelation into consciousness. Not activity, but passivity and receptivity is required to obtain it.

10. Human beings have the power to transform their environments, but not the laws and forces of the world. They are not wholly passive nor do they have complete control. The environment so transformed will now affect them both directly and by the kind of information it yields, for good or evil.

11. Nothing can be known which is not an affect on the mind, and this depends partly on the phenomena and partly on the nature of that mind. It may, therefore, be said that science studies experiences of objects rather objects themselves. There is no matter or energy or mind, but only phenomena possessing resistance, behaviour and pattern of various kinds.

12. A human being is a unity. The acquisition of knowledge, including Science, is only one of many human activities. There is also Art, Commerce, Industry, Law, Politics and so on. They all have a function and purpose with respect to human life, and they affect each other. They are distinguished from one another by a description which must also relate them to the other human activities to produce an overall comprehensive system.

13. Objectivity refers not only to perception, but also to thought, motivation and behaviour in all departments of life. Every aspect of man affects the others. All these must function correctly.

 (a) We do not see things. We have sensations or experiences in connection with the world and according to our different capacities. We may refer to these as ‘facts’. We must, however, interpret these. They must have some relevance to us. They must acquire meaning. This is done in accordance with some Framework of Reference. Animals do it unconsciously, according to their instincts. Man must do so consciously. This is usually implied in the system of concepts we use. Objectivity requires that this framework of reference be fully comprehensive. We cannot, for instance, exclude that which is unknown or unknowable for us, since whatever is real will affect us.

(b) The meaning of things arises by imposing values on facts. These values produce motives in us. It follows, therefore, that experiences have meaning according to our purposes. We seek, select, interpret, organise and apply according to motives. In order, then, that knowledge should be objective our motives must also be objective. The moral teachings of the revealed scriptures are presented to us as objective values, that is, they will produce in us effects which are compatible with our own nature, which includes self-preservation and the desire to benefit ourselves, and with the nature, laws and processes of the world. If we recognise, accept and act according to these values then, and then alone, will we see things objectively. It is, for instance, necessary that we have love of Truth and the desire to understand rather than the desire to create a technology, make a profit, obtain prestige or power, or interpret things according to some system of thought. It is, of course, possible to deny that these values are objective. But then we will either accept other values which we may have come by accidentally or through prejudice, insufficient data, fantasy, conditioning, habit or perversion, or we will accept those of some other authority who we consider to be more objective, conscious and capable than ourselves, such as some eminent scientist, philosopher or politician. However, an examination of the life of such a person will reveal that he is usually one-sided. He may be brilliant in some ways but primitive and immature in other ways. His life is unbalanced, and he cannot be said to be well adjusted to reality. Life, being a unity, each aspect will also affect the others. 

 (c) Actions elicit responses from the environment which become experiences for us. The act of measuring, experimentation and application itself changes the environment or elicits responses from the objects we are dealing with. This becomes our data. Experiences, therefore, vary with actions and behaviour. In order to obtain objective knowledge these actions must also be appropriate. Thus certain activities have been recommended by religion which will do just this.

14. Sensation, thought, feeling and action all give us knowledge. They are instruments. Indeed, man is a much more sensitive instrument than any so far constructed, one to which we have direct and a much more intimate access than anything else. Objectivity ultimately means not that we detach ourselves from the environment, become merely observers, but that we get involved intellectually, emotionally as well as through sensation and action, and then detach ourselves from ourselves, to observe our experiences. Objectivity cannot be achieved without a correct adjustment to reality and a correct system of values. An incorrect system will distort experiences.

However, the Prophet is also reported to have said:-

“In this world, I am like a stranger who is travelling through the land and who stops for a while in an oasis to rest.”

This appears to mean that he is detached, not only in the scientific sense, but also from all human affairs, their ambitions, their poverty, struggles, wars, conflicts, as well as from the environment.

His life and service to humanity, however, belies this interpretation. He had compassion. What he meant was that he was detached from the kind of subjective attitudes and concerns which govern most of human life. We ought to remain aloof of the pride, greed, prejudices, selfishness, mental conditioning, habits, rationalisations, controversies, stupidity, rivalries and pettiness which bring about the malfunctions and the troubles in which people get involved. We ought to counteract these characteristics in ourselves. We ought not to have a narrow view of reality. This earth and this life is only a small part of the totality. We ought to get beyond the particular, accidental and superficial and see that which is universal and fundamental beyond them. We have to be aware of these inner mechanisms and make allowances for them and distinguish between purely inner and outer experiences. This has not merely scientific value, but also political, social, commercial, psychological and even environmental value. The ability to control oneself depends on the existence of a separate centre of control within oneself which functions in accordance with more universal values. The word ‘spirit’ is applied to this.

15. Since knowledge depends partly on the nature of the knower, then the more intelligent and conscious creatures or people can see and know more than others. The basic fact about nature is evolution, the increase in information processing. It is the gradual increase in the introduction of information into the organism which produces evolution.

“Is he who was dead and We have raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walks among men, as he is who is like one in utter darkness from which he cannot emerge? Thus is their conduct made fair seeming for disbelievers.” 6:123

Knowledge is relative to the nature of the knower, and knowledge is, therefore, a progressive thing. It depends on the stage in evolution. Since truth is defined as that which is related to the Absolute Unity, Allah, at no time can it be said of a human idea that it is the absolute truth. We may have different parts or degrees of it and we may progressively approach it. There are several degrees and test for truth:-

(a) That something fits harmoniously (in a consistent, unified and non-contradictory manner) into a system of ideas. However, a person or community may hold several separate systems of ideas. The system of ideas must be comprehensive. It must keep expanding until it includes all things. This expansion depends also on the increase in consciousness.

(b) Since knowledge depends on interaction with the world, it refers to that which enables a harmonious interaction from which mutual benefit arises.

(c) Since that which facilitates evolution survives and that which leads to degeneration is destroyed, the test of truth is that which facilitates human evolution. In religious terms: that which serves Allah develops and that which does not is destroyed.

 

“Say: Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away. Lo! falsehood is ever bound to vanish.” 17:81

 

An idea is tested by whether or not it has enabled adjustment, welfare and evolution. The objective truth refers ultimately to the relationship of something to the Whole and to the final goal. The test of Truth ultimately is, therefore, that which is consistent with Reality, Allah.

“Even thus speak those who know not. Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that wherein they differ.” 2:113

“His word is Truth, and His will be the sovereignty on the day when the trumpet is blown, Knower of the invisible and the visible. He is the Wise, the Aware.” 6:74

 

16. The Universe has a purpose and, therefore, a direction of development. This is the basic fact of existence. Nothing would exist if this were not so. In short there is evolution. All things in it must have a purpose with respect to the ultimate purpose. This implies:-

   (a) That Truth ultimately means that which will facilitate this purpose.

   (b) That things may be locally or temporarily useful at particular times but not others. But their truth value depends on how they fit the ultimate purpose.

   (c) That Knowledge is that which facilitates the development of the knower. It does not refer to an idea or a technological application which makes no difference to the person.

 

The Islamic Principle of Objectivity, therefore, arises as follows:-

Correct knowledge requires correct thinking, motivations and actions.

1. The correct assumptions of thought are:-

(a) That Allah exists. This implies

(i) That there is a Reality apart from human opinions, prejudices and experiences.

(ii) That it is a Unity

(iii) That He has created the world, all things in it including man and continues to do so.       

  (iv) that the Universe and man have a purpose, direction and goal.

   

(b) That all things are dependent on this Reality and interact with each other.

(c) That man is a Vicegerent. This implies

(i) That he has a duty towards Reality

(ii) That he has the correct faculties for this function.

(iii) That his welfare and fate depend on the fulfilment of this function.

 

2. The correct motive or purpose for knowledge, as well as for relationships and actions is that they are means to fulfil the Vicegerency. This means that man has a duty for (a) the welfare (b) harmony (c) development towards

  (i) The environment and all things in it.

  (ii) His fellow human beings and the community of which he is a part

  (iii) Himself.

 

3. The correct actions are those which bring a person in closer contact and interaction with Reality or Allah, and serve His purpose.

 

Objectivity ultimately means that:-

(1) Phenomena have meaning and function only with respect to the ultimate Unity, Allah and with His purpose.

(2) A person has a centre of observation and control which is identified with the ultimate Objectivity, namely Allah. That his thoughts, feelings and actions derive from this. That he is in a state of Surrender. An objective person is a true Muslim, or conversely, a Muslim is an objective person. (Obviously, the word ‘Muslim’ is not being used here in a political, social, sectarian or subjective sense, but in its technical sense.)

(3) An objective thought, motive or action is one which is done on behalf of Allah, and this means that it facilitates development, a return to Allah.

In short, an idea is objective if (a) It fits into a comprehensive framework of reference the centre of which is Allah (b) The individual identifies himself with this centre (c) It facilitates his adjustment and development.

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To have a completely determined picture of reality requires knowledge of all facts. We cannot have, at any given time, all the facts, and if we had them our minds cannot deal with them all. Since we do not have this we can:-

(a) Only suggest what the truth might be.

(b) Several different explanations can be given and they have equal status.

(c) Some other explanation we do not yet possess may be true.

 

This applies not only to the great variety of probable Universes which quantum mechanics provides, but also in Biology, Sociology and Psychology. All we can say is that the constants, the laws of nature and the conditions are so constructed that the probability of conscious observers arising and evolving in this universe is maximised. In so far as the equations of physics allow a great number of different kinds of Universes arising, then we must choose the ones as correct which maximise this probability. The same applies to all other sciences. This would be the new principle of objectivity.

 

There is no distinction between religion and science in Islam because:-

1. It is Unitarian;

2. The seeking of knowledge is an obligation for all Muslims;

3. The Quran itself is constantly pointing to nature and describes itself as “nought else but a reminder to creation” (68:52).

 

There is no distinction between mind and matter in thought, or between the spiritual and the secular in life, or between the supernatural and natural in the environment. Everything is miraculous as well as natural.

It should not, therefore, be surprising that the Islamic Principle of Objectivity is different from the Western one and that it gives rise to a different Science. The consequences of the Islamic Principle of Objectivity may be summarised thus:-

(1) Creation is the introduction of order, information or truth. Destruction is the removal of order. (We recognise things only because of order. We do not create truth. It is a revelation.)

(2) In a system (recognised by the order in it), every part has a state of dynamic equilibrium with respect to the whole.

(3) When a part is disturbed from this state of equilibrium then a force is set up, or this disturbance manifests as a force, which tries to restore it to its state of equilibrium. (Thus hunger is a force, so is gravitation and magnetism. This agrees with Einstein’s view of gravity where it is connected with the structure of space-time. No essential distinction between psychological, biological and physical forces should be made.)

(4) There is a reciprocal interaction between a system and its environment, which is a larger system of which it is part. (In general three systems have to be studied to understand a phenomena - the system, its relationship with its parts and its relationship with the greater system of which it is part. The results of a study of phenomena under Laboratory conditions apply only to those Laboratory conditions.)

(5) When an external force enters a system, changes occur in the system tending to neutralise or incorporate that force. If it cannot, it is destroyed. Change and motion are ways of dealing with the force. (There are no uniform motions in nature. Uniform motion can be regarded as a special case of change under certain circumstances e.g. when an object is completely isolated. This can not happen. The ability to do this is proportional to adaptability or intelligence. We need some Constant to denote this. Mass or inertia is resistance to forces. But this assumes that the object is completely rigid and does not shatter. There are no such objects. All objects have an inner or subjective condition which affects the results. Purpose and cause are two views of the same phenomena. Every system tries to adjust itself to the events in the larger system in which it exists.)

If a particle is in a stable equilibrium with respect to a system, then if it is removed from that state, its energy could be defined as proportional to this disturbance. The motion of the object would depend on the exchange of energy with the environment through which it passes. The path the particle took would be determined by the need to minimise energy. A particle could take many paths from A to B, but the actual path would be the one which minimised the difference of energy between it and the environment.

Research in Quantum mechanics, in the fundamental particles of which all things consist, shows that these particles can take any of several paths. It is not possible to calculate which path they will take. In order, therefore, to determine the path and to know it, it is necessary for an observer to exist. This is known as the Anthropic Principle. The only way in which the Principle of Objectivity can be retained in science is to suppose that there is a Universal observer, namely God, and that it is only possible for man to be objective if he has some of the divine capacity, consciousness, and is aligned with God. In other words, if he is an agent of God and Surrenders to God.

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At least three basic processes have been identified:-

(a) Mechanical ones where a force causes a change directly. Things are not, however, quite so simple. If A acts on B, then the change depends both on the nature of A and B, and on their relationship, C.

(b) Intelligent ones. This probably implies that there is a certain freedom allowing randomness from which selection is made. This happens on the cosmic scale, in biology and also in the brain.

(c) Systems. Within the conditions of an environment, if there are a number of interacting individuals, they adjust themselves to each other to form an over all stable pattern or structure. This system depends on the nature of the individuals and the conditions of the environment. A new force entering the system causes it to change in a direction so as to regain stability within the environment. This adjustment may consist of putting out an output, re-structuring, or regulating the input - e.g. by reflection, defence, escape etc.. In such systems there may be no direct causal link between one event and another. The cause lies in the system as a whole.

 

It may be useful to think of the structure of the Universe as follows:-

There must be some kind of Fundamental irreducible Reality which is self-existent and constant which cannot be explained in terms of anything else, but all other things can be explained in terms of it. If a Universal or Unified Field Theory can be found, then it must apply to this Reality. But such a theory is not itself a material thing, but an idea - it must refer to and justify both material existence and consciousness.

The basic concept is now considered to be space-time. However, this is curved and contains depressions in it which are regarded as responsible for Gravity. But depressions imply another dimension. We have not merely two kinds of dimensions, space (extension) and time but also a third, intension. That is, given the same space and time, variations can still take place. We may, therefore, suppose that the Fundamental Field has these three dimensions. Gravity is not, therefore, a separate force and does not cause attraction between bodies. Mass is the same thing as gravity.

This Field is not itself a material thing. It may be regarded as not only the basis of matter but also of consciousness. This is because it is a fundamental pre-idea, and all things are understood with respect to it.

The Fundamental Field is homogenous, and all parts of it are connected and affect each other. The structures in the Universe can only arise when a difference or contrast of some kind occurs in the Field owing to the introduction of an impulse. For those who insist on ignoring Allah as a cause, this impulse arises spontaneously and this possibility is a characteristic of the Fundamental Field. In this case the Field itself has the status of Allah since to say that the impulse arises spontaneously is the same thing as saying the Universe is created by the Will of Allah.

Conscious awareness also requires the occurrence of an impulse which creates such a contrast. Whereas this impulse may be an external one in the case of a human observer, there can be nothing external to Reality as a whole. 

This impulse produces both order and chaos. It is not order which creates information, but information which creates order.

The Constancy of total Reality, however, implies that there must be opposite processes of evolution and involution - there is increasing order as well as chaos. Chaos is heat.

These dimensions are not originally differentiated until something occurs. This occurrence is defined by us as a beginning, and we count time from that. But it may only be a point in a greater Time Scale. For the Universe Time converts intensity into extensity. The notion of Time is connected with relative motions and interactions, thus with energy. The notion of potentiality, as opposed to actuality, may refer to mass or gravity. Thus the conversion of mass into energy is a process of actualisation of potentialities.

This fundamental field acquires a structure. It is this structure which governs all motions, events and organisations in the field, physical, biological and psychological. The cosmic bodies, stars, planets etc. do not produce gravity, but form where and how much gravity exists. The Structure may be regarded as having parts, each of which has its own parts and so on. There are several levels.

The structure, however, is not static but varies according to some fundamental organising force carrying information operating in it, like waves in the sea. This force may be integral to the field, but only distinguishable from the dimensions in an analytical mind, by comparing one limited thing with another.

The total mass and energy of the Universe is zero. Thus the Universe can only be accounted for by Information. This separates positive from negative energy. Matter can be converted to energy which is a relationship between mass, space and time. Mass is intensity. The flow of energy is determined by entropy which is a relationship between intensity and time, i.e. energy flows from a point of higher concentration to points of lower concentration.

This presupposes a difference, the existence of points of concentration, of low entropy or high negentropy. This can only arise by the introduction of information. It is not the expansion of the Universe which causes the difference of concentration, but on the contrary, the expansion of the universe is caused by the difference of concentration, the introduction of information.

Because of this there is a tendency towards both differentiation and the restoration of homogeneity. There is a direction of development, which manifests as an urge or purpose in all things. It is a consequence of the introduction of information which can, therefore, be defined as both the cause and the purpose of all things. The expansion of the Universe is a reaction which neutralises this, or uses up information, or is the result of it.

The Electromagnetic and other forces are secondary phenomena which arise from this. A photon is already an organised entity. 

The creation of an idea in the mind implies manipulation of the part of the Field within us. But this is affected by, and will affect the rest of the Field.

The Field remains a Unity so that all objects interact and adjust themselves to their locality. Each object can be regarded as an observer with respect to any other, or as an object of observation, and obtains experiences or information through interaction which modify it. But things vary in their sensitivities and capacities for such experiences.

One of the fundamental principles is intelligence which refers to adjustment of the part to the whole, the inner to the outer, an object to its environment. It is the combination of purpose and randomness, order and chaos, trial and error, variation and selection, experimentation, adaptation. This also varies.

Science, based on Newton’s Laws of motion assumes that change can only be created by a force. If then, there was nothing in the beginning, where did such a force come from? What is force any way? It appears to mean an urge, similar to that found in human beings. It means the same thing as purpose or will. Purpose, however, refers to someone or something which remains unknown and the term God or Allah is applied to it. This purpose is inherent in things, e.g. the attraction of gravity and electrical forces. All human urges, self-preservation, reproduction and self-extension arise from what might be called the life force which owing to organisation differentiates out from the electrical forces within them. This and the other forces of physics are thought to differentiate out from a single fundamental force or urge. This original force cannot be reduced to anything else. To explain the existence of the Universe we need no other notion except this fundamental purpose. Everything else follows. Things can be created by a purpose merely by separating a positive from an equal negative. The two together equal zero. The Universe comes out of nothing given only the purpose of Allah.

However, it is thought that there are certain asymmetries in the Universe - There is a little more left-handedness than right handedness, a little more matter than antimatter and time has one direction rather than the opposite - these facts may be related. It appears, therefore, that if the two opposite forces were completely equal things would have been reduced to nothing but for this asymmetry. Some part of one of these factors has been taken out of the equation in order to create the Universe. The cause of this is unknown, and probably unknowable. It must be accepted as a given fact. It is this third factor which must be regarded as the cause of the differentiation between the pair of opposites. It may be that there is another Universe where the opposite is the case - a part of the opposite factor has been taken out, thus restoring equality.

However, these ideas are not advanced as true, but as possibilities.

Those who have better knowledge and expertise are invited to modify these ideas and attempt a mathematical description.

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