Islam and Peace
Faith and Reason
~ 19 ~
valid argument was one based on observation. It
was under the influence of this concept that the
philosophy generally known as positivism came
into being.
However the discoveries made in the first quarter of
the century shook the very foundation of their
preliminary theories. These later discoveries
revealed that beyond this world of appearance, a
whole world was hidden, which does not come
under observation. It is only indirectly possible to
understand this hidden world and present
arguments in its favour. That is, by observing the
effects of something, we arrive at an understanding
of its existence.
This discovery altered the whole picture. When the
access of human knowledge was limited to the
macro-cosmic world, man was a prey to this
misapprehension. But when human knowledge
penetrated the micro-world, the academic situation
changed on its own.
Now it was revealed that the field of direct
argument was extremely limited. New facts which
came to the knowledge of man were so abstruse
