Brief Description
"This book discloses a largely unnoticed dialogue between Muslim and Western social thought on the search for meaning and transcendence in the human sciences. The disclosure is accomplished by a comparative reading of contemporary Muslim debates on secular knowledge on the one hand, and of a foundational Western debate on the demise of metaphysics in the human sciences on the other hand. The comparative reading is grounded in a dialogical hermeneutic approach; that is, a hermeneutic approach to texts and cultural traditions that draws upon the work of Hans Georg Gadamer and also upon the insights of inter-religious dialogue"--
Learn More about the Book
Ali Zaidi discloses a largely unnoticed dialogue between Muslim and Western social thought on the search for meaning and transcendence in the human sciences. This disclosure is accomplished by a comparative reading of Muslim debates on secular knowledge on the one hand and of Western debates on the putative death of metaphysics in the human sciences on the other hand. The analysis is grounded in dialogical hermeneutics; that is, a hermeneutic approach to texts and cultural traditions that draws upon the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer and upon the insights of inter-religious dialogue."
About the Book
This book discloses a largely unnoticed dialogue between Muslim and Western social thought on the search for meaning and transcendence in the human sciences. The disclosure is accomplished by a comparative reading of contemporary Muslim debates on secular knowledge on the one hand, and of a foundational Western debate on the demise of metaphysics in the human sciences on the other hand. The comparative reading is grounded in a dialogical hermeneutic approach; that is, a hermeneutic approach to texts and cultural traditions that draws upon the work of Hans Georg Gadamer and also upon the insights of inter-religious dialogue.
Review Quotes
1.
Zaidi's book is an important contribution to the global Islam-Modernity debate. --Ernest Wolf-Gazo, Professor of Philosophy, the American University in Cairo
"Islam, Modernity, and the Human Sciences "is a complex and demanding exposition of the epistemological problems that confront any dialogue between civilizations, especially between Islam and the West, but it is also wholly rewarding and captivating. Can a dialogue between civilizations ultimately replace the destructive clash of civilizations that has raged since 9/11? Ali Zaidi offers a masterly analysis of various attempts, from Max Weber to Jurgen Habermas, to understand other cultures[...] How can we understand the truth claims of Islam and at the same time dismiss the Other s notion of the sacred? Faced with the bleak prospect of an endless conflict of civilizations, dialogue may be all that we have to hope for. As a result, Ali Zaidi s book is an urgent prerequisite for more productive conversations. --Bryan S. Turner, Presidential Professor of Sociology, the Graduate Center, City University of New York"
2. "Zaidi's book is an important contribution to the global Islam-Modernity debate." - Ernest Wolf-Gazo, Professor of Philosophy, the American University in Cairo "Islam, Modernity, and the Human Sciences is a complex and demanding exposition of the epistemological problems that confront any dialogue between civilizations, especially between Islam and the West, but it is also wholly rewarding and captivating. Can a dialogue between civilizations ultimately replace the destructive clash of civilizations that has raged since 9/11? Ali Zaidi offers a masterly analysis of various attempts, from Max Weber to Jurgen Habermas, to understand other cultures[...] How can we understand the truth claims of Islam and at the same time dismiss the Other s notion of the sacred? Faced with the bleak prospect of an endless conflict of civilizations, dialogue may be all that we have to hope for. As a result, Ali Zaidi s book is an urgent prerequisite for more productive conversations." - Bryan S. Turner, Presidential Professor of Sociology, the Graduate Center, City University of New York
3.
"Zaidi's book is an important contribution to the global Islam-Modernity debate." - Ernest Wolf-Gazo, Professor of Philosophy, the American University in Cairo
"Islam, Modernity, and the Human Sciences is a complex and demanding exposition of the epistemological problems that confront any dialogue between civilizations, especially between Islam and the West, but it is also wholly rewarding and captivating. Can a dialogue between civilizations ultimately replace the destructive clash of civilizations that has raged since 9/11? Ali Zaidi offers a masterly analysis of various attempts, from Max Weber to Jurgen Habermas, to understand other cultures[...] How can we understand the truth claims of Islam and at the same time dismiss the Other s notion of the sacred? Faced with the bleak prospect of an endless conflict of civilizations, dialogue may be all that we have to hope for. As a result, Ali Zaidi s book is an urgent prerequisite for more productive conversations." - Bryan S. Turner, Presidential Professor of Sociology, the Graduate Center, City University of New York
4.
"Zaidi's book is an important contribution to the global Islam-Modernity debate." - Ernest Wolf-Gazo, Professor of Philosophy, the American University in Cairo
"Islam, Modernity, and the Human Sciences is a complex and demanding exposition of the epistemological problems that confront any dialogue between civilizations, especially between Islam and the West, but it is also wholly rewarding and captivating. Can a dialogue between civilizations ultimately replace the destructive clash of civilizations that has raged since 9/11? Ali Zaidi offers a masterly analysis of various attempts, from Max Weber to Jurgen Habermas, to understand other cultures[...] How can we understand the truth claims of Islam and at the same time dismiss the Other s notion of the sacred? Faced with the bleak prospect of an endless conflict of civilizations, dialogue may be all that we have to hope for. As a result, Ali Zaidi s book is an urgent prerequisite for more productive conversations." - Bryan S. Turner, Presidential Professor of Sociology, the Graduate Center, City University of New York
