There is no more vexing question regarding the flowering of intellectual
and cultural life in the era of Ibn Sina and Biruni than the date of its
end. The most commonly accepted terminus point is the Mongol invasion,
which Chinggis Khan launched in the spring of 1219. But this turns
out to be both too early and too late. It is too early because of the several
bursts of cultural brilliance that occurred thereafter; and it is too late because
the cultural and religious crisis that threw the entire enterprise of rational
enquiry, logic, and Muslim humanism into question occurred over
a century prior to the Mongol invasion, when a Central Asian theologian
named Ghazali placed strict limits on the exercise of logic and reason,
demolished received assumptions about cause and effect, and ruthlessly
attacked what he considered “the incoherence of the philosophers.”1 That
he himself was at the same time a subtle and nuanced thinker and a genuine
champion of the life of piety made his attack all the more effective.
The key point is “That he himself was at the same time a subtle and nuanced thinker and a genuine champion of the life of piety made his attack all the more effective.” which is a “rationality quote” or else I’m mistakes as what qualifies. And the rest just leads up to it and provides interesting context.
If you’re interested in the history of how science can be lost, you may also be interested in The Forgotten Revolution: How Science Was Born in 300 BC and Why It Had to Be Reborn by Lucio Russo.
Frederick Starr: Lost Enlightenment
Very interesting account of the rise and fall of the arab enlightenment in central asia.
First chapter here: http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s10064.pdf
From that chapter:
Should this go in the media thread?
Maybe.
The key point is “That he himself was at the same time a subtle and nuanced thinker and a genuine champion of the life of piety made his attack all the more effective.” which is a “rationality quote” or else I’m mistakes as what qualifies. And the rest just leads up to it and provides interesting context.
Thanks for making me aware of this (I added it to my “to read” list on Goodreads), but this isn’t really a rationality quote.
At this point, Rationality Quotes might as well just be Quotes.
If you’re interested in the history of how science can be lost, you may also be interested in The Forgotten Revolution: How Science Was Born in 300 BC and Why It Had to Be Reborn by Lucio Russo.