Islam and Peace
Faith and Reason
~ 10 ~
Knowledge is composed of two kinds of things,
Bertrand Russell puts it, knowledge of things and
knowledge of truths. This dichotomy exists in
religion as well as in science. For instance, to the
scientist who regards biological evolution as a
scientific fact, there are two aspects to be
considered. One is related to the organic part of
species and the other relates to the law of evolution
which is inherently and covertly operative in the
continuing process of change among the species.
When an evolutionist studies the outward physical
appearance of species, he may be said to be
studying ‘things’. Whereas when he studies the law
of evolution, he deals with that aspect of the subject
which is termed the study or knowledge of ‘truths.’
Every evolutionist knows that there does exist a
basic difference between the two aspects. As far as
the study of things or the phenomena of evolution
is concerned, direct evidence is available. For
instance, because the study of fossils found in
various layers of the earth’s crust is possible at the
level of observation, working hypothesis may be
based thereon.
