Comparative Theology (Mar 2015)
A Preparation for Constructing Technology on Islamic Theology
Abstract
In the modern world, on the one hand, technology has brought comfort to people and on the other hand had has raised many concerns toward the future. Philosophers pay a special role in finding a way or ways for the human society to have the maximum benefit and facing the minimum damage from the unpleasant items. Giving an Islamic path to science and technology may help us overcome the concerns and we reach this goal by something more than just speaking and having unnecessary prejudice. In recent decades producing Islamic science and Islamic technology have involved many scholars in the Islamic countries and Iran. It's interesting that even the hardest critics on the religious science program who denied the phenomena, accept the possibility of the religious and regional technology and further they have a positive attitude toward this kind of technology if some conditions exist. At the beginning we will take a look at evolution of attitude toward technology. Then, because of definition of technology as “humanity at wok” in recent attitudes and after a glance on the philosophy of science (as the nearest neighbor of the philosophy of technology), we will review different opinions about the influence of metaphysics on technology. If we map the opinions concerning the range of the influence of metaphysical believes on technological artifacts on a spectrum, on one side there are people who try to reduce from the importance of such assumptions by emphasizing common items of human societies and on the other side there are some who attempt to increase the importance of metaphysics of technology. There are evidences to confirm both opinions and perhaps there are different metaphysical roles in different technological experiences. But, at least, the role of metaphysical backgrounds on physical and social artifacts could not be denied. Anyway because of the Interlinking between social phenomena (such as science and technology) and metaphysics, any attempt in order to develop Islamic science and technology without explaining the Islamic metaphysic (theology) for it from valid religious sources (wisdom and quotes) will be superficial and ends to failure. Finally we recommended nine foundations to construct the technological metaphysic on. They are: 1. Noticing the hierarchical role of human being in the world 2. The Tightness between man and the world which he lives on. 3. Considering both the unseen and the visible world and accepting the causality in them. 4. Spreading science and technology. 5. Unity and concomitance of science and technology 6. Strategic and long-term unity between profit-seeking and rightful ends. 7. Denying relativity in principal moral standards and accepting relativity in some secondary matters. 8. The authenticity of deed, intent and belief simultaneously. 9. Bounded authority It's clear that these nine principles are not comprehensive at all, and is only an effort that tries to fit a sea in a bowl.
