Lecture 2: Origins of Western Social Science

See also AM29 - Adv Mciro 29 for 80m video-lecture in English and related materials

See page on WESTERN SOCIAL SCIENCE for a list of related articles. IN particular new lecture/.article (June 2013) sketches "A New Methodology for Islamic Economics" and also explains why current Western methodology, which borrows from Physical Sciences, is not appropriate for humanites.

Main Lecture:

“Origins of Western Social Science” Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance, vol 5, number 2, May-August 2009, p. 9-22 [see [IKF10.pdf below]

ABSTRACT: On the whole, Muslims have accepted Western claims that both social sciences and physical sciences are equally fact and logic based, and “positive” descriptions of reality. In fact, Western formulations of social sciences hide ethical and social commitments to secular views which conflict the Islamic views. Widespread acceptance by Muslims of these false claims to factuality and objectivity has prevented the development of genuine Islamic alternatives, and has been a serious obstacle to progress in the project of “Islamization of Knowledge”. The goal of this paper is to examine the origins of Western Social Science, and to show how it is based on secular preconceptions antithetical to Islam.

URDU Lecture on this essay is available from link below:\

http://asadzaman.net/online-lecture/islamic-economics-2/current-issues-in-islamic-economics-2012/

Clixk on symbol for audio recording at the bottom of lecture 3.

Supplementary Reading:

“Improving Social Science Education in Pakistan,” Lahore Journal of Policy Studies Vol. 2 No. 1, June 2008.

LJPSSEDU.pdf below.

An important evidence for the failure of social science in the west is the social destruction, manifested in so many different ways -- increase in loneliness, breakdown of families, social structures, random violence, serial killers, etc. etc. Documentation on this is collected on SOCIAL BREAKDOWN