Hello all! It was great to see so many of you at Dr. Oliver Sacks’ lecture. Now, the CSSR would like you to join us for:
Center for the Study of Science and Religion presents
Marwa Elshakry
Associate Professor, Department of History
Columbia University
MUSLIM HERMENEUTICS AND MODERN ARABIC VIEWS OF EVOLUTION
Thursday October 6th, 6:00-7:30PM
Davis Auditorium, Schapiro CEPSR Building
Morningside Campus, Columbia University
530 W. 120th St., New York, NY 10027
Over the last century and a half, discussions of Darwin in Arabic have involved a complex intertwining of sources of authority. This paper reads one of the earliest Muslim responses to modern evolution against those in more recent times to show how questions of epistemology and exegesis have been critically revisited in the process. This involved, on the one hand, the resuscitation of long-standing debates over claims regarding the nature of evidence, certainty and doubt, and, on the other, arguments about the use (and limits) of reason in relation to scripture. Categories of knowledge and belief, alongside methods of scriptural hermeneutics, were critically repositioned, transforming the meaning and discursive reach of the former as much as the latter. All CSSR Seminars are free and open to the public.
Pre-registration for this event at http://cssr-admin.ei.columbia.edu/?id=rsvp
is optional but recommended.
The CSSR Spring 2011 Seminar Series is offered with the support of the Earth Institute.
Advertisement
