The Moral Vision
Narrow-Mindedness
~ 82 ~
NARROW-MINDEDNESS
According to La Rochefoucauld: “Mediocre spirits
generally condemn everything that exceeds their
small stature.” Perceiving this common human
failing, a modern poet implores people: “Don’t
criticize what you can’t understand.”
The trouble is, people tend to judge matters on how
they affect their own selves. They are quick to
support anything which improves their own
position, or at least does not downgrade them in
any way. But when something appears threatening
to their own position, they oppose it, regardless of
its intrinsic worth.
Take, for example, the case of our Arabic madrasahs
(schools) functioning in the Indian sub-continent.
Generally, they include a course in ancient
Aristotelian logic in their syllabus. We say “logic,”
or that is the name by which this science is known,
but it would be more accurate to call it “illogic”.
What is taught in the name of logic has nothing to
do with true logic. It is not conducive to the logical
presentation of Islam vis-à-vis modern education.
