Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul

In his Science of the cosmos, science of the soul, William Chittick attempts to find relevance between views of the ancient Muslim thinkers and those of today. In other words, he seeks to prove that the thinkers of the early Muslim world can offer ways for solving difficulties and vexing problems of contemporary modernity-stricken societies. The book has been written in a totally Islamic monotheistic tone, attributing the decline in thought of today's Muslim communities to their distancing themselves from the traditional rationality of the past. The root-cause of this intellectual decline, according to Chittick, lies in the fact that the contemporary Muslims have abandoned their traditional way of thinking, which used to be monotheistically oriented, and moved towards instrumental rationality of ultra modernism. Chittick concludes that man's endeavor to attain science cannot and should not get far away from Divine way; otherwise, there will be all ignorance, vexation and chaos.