The notion of "cause" is fundamental
to all thinking in the conduct of one's life as well as in religion, philosophy
and science. It is one of the main ingredients of Knowledge. It connects
together phenomena in a regular, consistent and predictable manner that gives
us some control over our affairs and allows us to live an intelligent life. It
is based on the observation that an event "A", the cause, is always
connected with an event "B", the effect. "B" in its turn
may be a cause for some other effect. This gives a chain of cause and effects.
The whole of existence can be regarded as a network of such chains. We ought to
search for such connections because this gives us knowledge and power over
nature.
The cause
has been regarded as preceding the effect in time and effect has been regarded
as following the cause "necessarily". That is, one implies the other.
This can be called a Law of nature. We could then explain the world by a group
of laws and there would be no need for the idea of God. But Muslim thinkers
such as Ghazali have argued that there is no "necessity" about the
connection. We merely observe the connection, not the necessity. This means
that though we have seen a connection a number of times things may change and
there need be no such connection. We cannot argue that because "A"
and "B" have been connected so many times in the past they will,
therefore, be connected in the future. We could say that the probability that
they will be connected increases the greater the number of times we see the
connection. But this too is not inevitable. It could be the other way round -
the probability may decrease. The fact that the sun has risen every day for so
many years, for instance, is leading us closer to a time when it will cease to
exist. The connection between "A" and "B" must, therefore,
be attributed to the Will of God and He can do as he wills.
But apart from this it can be objected:- (a)
That whenever "A" and "B" are not connected then we do not
observe this or ignore it, or we invent some other cause "C" to
explain why this has not happened. (b) That "A" could be the cause of
other effects "C", or "D" or "E" etc. (c) That
"B" could be the result of other causes "C" or
"D" or "E" etc. (d) That in a causal sequence A>B>C>D…etc.
it is not clear whether we are connecting A with B or C or D etc. (e) That the
causes and effects exist in conditions, context or environment where many
things interact. It is possible that the effect "B" can be suppressed
by other things or changed or that it may be the result of several causes. (f)
It is assumed that nothing can come out of nothing. Everything that exists, say
"A" must come out of something that existed before it, say
"X" as well as have a cause, say "C". But some people
attribute events to "Chance" or randomness. But this simply means
ignorance of causes or inability to calculate and predict. It cannot be a
cause. It is based on the assumption that there are a number of individual
entities that are moving about independently in complex ways and that their
various combinations are the cause of the events. The notion of
"Chance" arises in opposition to the notion of "Necessity"
as an explanation why "Determinism" often fails. Both of these are
unwarranted assumptions. Islam does not need this dichotomy.
It can, therefore, be asserted that:- (a) The
observer (his intentions, ideas, thought processes and actions) must also be
taken into consideration. (b) The conditions must be taken into consideration.
It is better to state that a cause or set of causes "A" produces an
effect or set of effects "C" under a set of conditions "B".
Or A+B>C. E.g. The passage of electricity through a wire in a bulb produces
light and heat. (c) The cause is not prior in time to the effect but coexists
with it and the effect lasts as long as the cause remains.
Science can be said to be based on Newton's three Laws of
Motion:- (a) Things continue in a state of uniform motion until a force acts to
change this. (b) The change in motion is proportional to the force acting. (c)
There is an equal and opposite reaction to each action.
It should be noted that (a) These laws can be
modified to apply to all type of changes - they can all be thought of as
motions. (b) It assumes that something exists before the change as well as a
separate cause. It assumes the principle of conservation - that nothing comes
out of nothing; that at the fundamental level nothing is created or destroyed;
that present temporal existence implies eternal existence. (b) There is a
circular argument here: How do you prove that there is a force that causes the
change. Answer: We measure the change of motion. But this was already assumed.
In fact, it is connected with how we think. It is a law of the mind. (c) The
force is assumed to be other than the motion and it may exist outside or inside
the system in which the motion in taking place. E.g. A stone can be thrown by
an outside agent but an animal can move by forces within it. (e) If we consider
the coming into existence of the whole of the Universe and the changes in it
then we must assume a force other than the Universe, which may be external or
internal to it or both. We call this God or Allah.
When there is uniformity or homogeneity then we
are unaware, unconscious of it. When something "A" arises that
produces a contrast with the background "X" then this opposition
constitutes a problem and acts as a stimulus that makes us aware. It activates
us and the purpose of the activity is to seek an explanation or solution by
providing a reconciling factor "C" that will restore the original
Unity. This activity is, therefore, a process that is the very opposite of the
act of creation. It can be regarded as the purpose of the creation. It is an
evolutional process, while creation is an Involutional process. Each can be
regarded as a reaction to the action of the other. The two together ensure the
Conservation.
Before the new born child becomes aware and
obtains knowledge and before the Universe is created there is an Absolute Unity
"X", a uniform homogeneity. We call it Allah. There is nothing
outside it. Creation and change, therefore, arise from an inner cause, an Intention
"W" we call the Will, Word or Command of Allah. At this level of
Intention the cause, effect and purpose is one and the same thing. Knowledge
only begins when there is differentiation and relativity. It begins with
creation and vice versa. At the level of the Absolute they are one and the same
things. Creation can be regarded as a progressive differentiation through
stages. Evolution can be regarded as stages of progressive synthesis in being,
consciousness and knowledge.
According to the Quran the Word of God, by which
He created all things, is Truth. The essence of things can, therefore, be
described as the Truth or Information or Order that they contain. The
interaction between things can be regarded as consisting of the induction or
transfer of Information. Causation, therefore, means that information
"I" has been induced or transferred from one thing "A" to
another "B". This may mean that both "A" and "B"
have been changed. The cause is, therefore, not "A", though it is
ordinarily so regarded. Two objects may interact causing changes in each, but
the effects do not only depend on the nature of the two objects but also on the
way they are related - e.g. their distances apart or whether there is any
similarity, empathy or resonance between them. This can be included in the
conditions "C".
Thus:- A1+B1+"C" > A2+B2. If
"A" and "B" refer to a class or sets of things then A1 and
A2 might be subsets or objects in "A" ; B1 and B2 might be subsets or
objects in "B". And we could say
"A"+"B"+"C" > "A"+"B". We
can also regarded these changes as a special case of more general changes
S1>S2, where S refers to a system which may have several ingredients A+B+C….etc.
This information "I" may be regarded
as part or result of the transformation of "W". The Quran tells us:-
"Allah
is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like of them. The
Commandment continues to descend among them slowly, that you may know that
Allah has power over all things and that Allah indeed encompasses all things in
knowledge." 65:12
The implication is that there are several levels
of Reality. They can be represented as concentric circles, each succeeding one
being contained in the previous one, composed of progressively more
concentrated, organised and inert substance. The implications further are:-
(a) The causes of the phenomena at lower levels
exist at the higher levels. E.g. the events on earth depend on causes in the
Solar system. We could speak of 7 levels of causes deriving from "W"
as W0, and W1 to W7 to W14.
(b) Ultimately everything depends on Allah, but
not always directly. There are direct and levels of indirect causes and
effects.
(c) Suppose a system "B" is seen as
existing as part of a higher system "A" and consisting of many
interacting subsystems "c1, c2, c3…etc.". Then an impulse from the
higher system "A" that causes a disturbance in the equilibrium of
"B" will have multiple effects, which involve the readjustment of the
subsystems so as to find a new equilibrium.
(d) All the subsystems "c1, c2,
c3…etc." will be reacting co-operatively without there being any need for
a direct cause/effect process between them. These may appear as Coincidences or
Cascade effects.
(e) There are vertical interactions (upwards and
downwards between the levels - Quran 34:2) as well as horizontal interactions.
The direct connection between entities at a given level could be seen as
consisting of many feed back loops such that there is inter-dependence and
reciprocal interactions that are not one way only.
(f) There are several levels of existence. An
entity or organism whose behaviour is controlled by the causal forces at a
higher level could have some control over the causal forces at a lower level.
This gives it a "Degree of Freedom" from the lower level. At this
lower level its behaviour will seem unpredictable. The degree of freedom, which
could also be described as a Level of Intelligence, varies from complete inertia
at the lowest level to complete freedom at the highest level. For instance,
plants can do what minerals cannot and are relatively free of the determinism
that controls inert matter. Similarly, animals have a greater degree of freedom
than plants and man has a greater degree of freedom than animals. Human beings
also vary among themselves in this respect and can increase it using suitable
techniques. Ultimately, however, there can be no Absolute Free Will - i.e. a
Will apart from that of Allah as Allah has power over all things. But there are
levels of relative freedom.
(g) Changes can take place horizontally within a
level or vertically, upwards or downwards. Evolution or the development can be
regarded as a motion upward and involution as a motion downward.
The Quran also tells us:-
"..for
everything with Him is measured (calculated or in proportion)." 13:8
"He
has created everything, and then given it its measure (proportions)." 25:2
"We
did not create the heavens and the earth and what is between them two save with
Truth and for an appointed term." 46:3
And see also 10:6, 39:5, 40:67, 41:10, 67:3,
71:14 etc.
These
revealed verses indicate that there is order and proportionality in the
Universe and that all things are measured. The implication is that the created
Universe consists of basic units or Atoms of existence and constructed from
order among these.
Fundamentally, Reality can be thought of as an
Infinite Uniform field such that nothing is distinguishable from anything else.
It can be illustrated diagrammatically as a circle marked “A” for Absolute. In
this we have a smaller circle marked “U” for the created Universe. The area in
“A” outside “U” is marked “T” for transcendental. In “U” we have a still
smaller circle marked “M” for man represented by a Messenger of God. Thus “A”
has three areas – (a) The Transcendental or the Essence, (b) the Universal
Spirit that carries the Word or Command of God, (c) the Spirit that is dormant
in man but active in the Messenger. These are not distinctions in “A” but only
in our thoughts – i.e. relative to Creation. This applies also to the
Attributes of God. The notions, for instance, of Compassion, Benevolence,
Justice, Power etc. have meaning only with respect to something. They refer to
a relationship between a subject and object. Though they all derive from a
Unity they constitute different aspects because they affect the multiplicity
and relativity of the created world.
Creation implies that entities appear in it
spontaneously that are distinct from one another. They have limitations and are
finite in space, time and qualities. They constitute the World of Relativity.
As they derive from a Unity they cannot destroy, they are related to each other
and interact forming a self-consistent whole. The puzzles associated with Infinity
such as those mentioned by Zeno do not apply to the created world. According to
Zeno the world is an illusion because there cannot be an motion in the real
world because moving from one point to another would mean traversing an
infinite number of points and there are an infinite number of points between
any two distances no matter how large or small. This would make the small equal
to the large. This contradiction arises from having concepts and mistaking them
for realities. We must suppose that in Reality there are a finite number of
points and motion consists of “leaps” between them. Change does not take place
gradually in infinite steps but in “leaps”. In so far as these are very small,
motion appears smooth relative to our perceiving mind. A corollary of this is
that what we experience is a relationship between the objective phenomena and
the perceiving mind. There are levels of changing phenomena as well as minds.
The Universe could be regarded as existing in
the Mind of Allah (symbolically only as we do not know what the Absolute
Substance is). Entities are fundamental Ideas and in so far as they are
separate they offer resistance to each other and this is understood as inertia
or materiality. However, things are not separate, but bound together by all
kinds of causal forces. The Universe can be regarded as a Field that is a
network of forces in which there are Fundamental Knots, points of convergence
and divergence of these forces, that could perhaps be called Atomic Ideas or
Phenomena of Level 1 (PL1). Combination of these produces structures that are
Level 2 Phenomena (PL2). Combinations of these produce Level 3 Phenomena (PL3).
And so on. All entities at a level, therefore, also contain phenomena of the
previous levels and exist in an environment consisting of the previous levels.
No distinction is made between matter, life and
consciousness - these are aspects of Phenomena that have various degrees. There
is no Cartesian dichotomy between mind and matter in Islam. When there is an
interaction between things any one of them can be regarded as the observer or
subject having inner effects with respect to the others, which are the objects
and external to it. There are only differences of Intelligence. Intelligence
can be regarded as adaptability and refers to the adjustment of an entity
within a system.
Ultimately our experiences are an interaction
between our consciousness and that of God and intelligent behaviour refers
ultimately to adjustment to God. Three levels of interaction can be described.
(a) At the fundamental level, in so far as the Spirit of God is also in us
(Quran 32:9) experiences take place by spontaneous leaps of insight,
inspiration or revelation. (b) Reason is secondary and refers to the experience
of the created world of which we are part and with which we interact. We
understand it and can deal with it because we have arisen in adaptation to it
and the laws of creation (the order and regularity) and our minds are the same.
(c) The particular phenomena we experience are a tertiary reality. But the
accumulation of experiences in memory also conveys the order and pattern among
them. But we may not be conscious of this. Human behaviour depends on much more
than on their conscious minds.
The behaviour of all creatures including Human beings
depends on the phenomena and events at all the levels of reality. There are
many levels of causal forces and they all derive ultimately from the Will of
God. The Spirit of God is in man. (Quran 32:9). But owing to sin, the Fall from
Paradise, we have lost contact (awareness)
with the Spirit - except for saints and Prophets through whom Allah works. That
is, what we call "I", the "Conscious I" has fallen to a
lower level. Surrender (Islam) is to work as an agent of Allah by His Spirit.
That is why we have been sent the religious discipline so that we can regain
contact with Allah.
"O
you who believe! Respond unto Allah and His Messenger when He calls you to that
which quickens you; and know that Allah comes in between a man and his own
heart; and that He it is unto Whom you shall be gathered." 8:24
Ordinarily, we function through unconscious
biological impulse, instincts, conditioned reflexes, social conditioning,
habits, automatisms and sometimes reason. These are relatively lower level
causes. But we do have the potentiality for conscious action (will) through the
Spirit. This is obviously not independent of God either.
Some Critics of Islam object that Muslims claim
that Islam is compatible with Science. But the ideas that the Universe has a
purpose and that it is created and maintained by God are fundamental in Islam.
Both these are anti-scientific. In fact, from the scientific point of view the
Universe is run by Laws that leave no room for God.
But these critics are mistaken.
In the Islamic concept of God, Allah is
transcendental as well as imminent and personal. Not only is He the creator of
the Laws that regulate the Universe, but He also maintains and guides the
development of the Universe by working through the entities, forces and
processes in the Universe. His spirit is also in man and He works through man
and man can contact Him. In fact, Human beings derive their powers of
creativity, initiative and responsibility from Him.
There are in general three ways of looking at
the world we live in:-
(1)
Mode 1 - As a field of multiple
objects and events in space and time, between which there are relationships and
interactions.
(2)
Mode 2 - As systems in which
the parts form multiple relationships with each other and there are feed back
loops and balances between opposite processes.
(3)
Mode 3 - As a Unity, a whole
independent of time and space. This whole is more than the sum of the parts. It
is like a pattern that cannot be broken into parts because to do so is to
destroy the pattern. One kills the animal by dissecting it.
The notions of cause, effect and purpose are
connected with relationships. The question of relationships arises only when
the field of perception is divided into parts. These relationships unite,
counteracting the act of dividing the whole into parts. The relationship
cause>effect has a direction in time and arises when we see things as a
field of objects – Mode 1. This is the usual scientific mode of thought.
But when we see things according to Mode 2 as
systems then the notion of purpose also arises. The purpose can be regarded as
the cause of the cause and is the same as the effect - the direction is
reversed to effect>cause. For instance, the cause of the animal seeking food
is hunger, but hunger is a depletion of its energy owing to its activities, a
departure from a normal state of stability to which it is striving to return.
The purpose of its activity is to restore its energy supply, and that is the
cause of its hunger, which is the cause of its activity. The effect of the
activity is the restoration of its energy.
But the activity itself depletes its energy.
So, in fact, these three relational factors are interconnected and belong as
parts to something much more fundamental, the Nature of the entity described as
a particular State of Equilibrium
or Harmony within a higher system. This is best understood through Mode 3.
The word “purpose” can have one of three
meanings:- (a) Intention that drives an action - “It
is my purpose to do such and such or to obtain such and such an effect” (b)
The end for which something has been designed - “The
purpose of cars is to transport people from one place to another” (c)
The function which something has with respect to the whole to which it belongs
- “The purpose of my intestines is to digest food”.
In the second case we are
speaking of what is integral to the essence of the car, its function and that
which justifies its existence. In the third case we are speaking of something
which has a natural function with respect to the whole system to which it belongs
and it is this system which has caused it to arise for its own purposes. All
things, including human beings have a purpose with respect to the world and the
Cosmos in this third sense. But human beings are required to treat themselves
with a purpose in the second sense, and are exhorted to develop a purpose in
the first sense.
The Laws of Physics are time symmetrical. This
means that any process can be seen as running backwards or forwards. Given the
laws and the conditions now existing, we can predict the future conditions or
retrodict past conditions. According to Einstein’s Relativity Theory Time is a
dimension of space-time. This means that time is not flowing from past to
present to future, but all coexist. Given any point as the “now”, there are
forces converging on it from the “past” and the “future”. We call the forces
coming from the past “causes” and if they come from the future, we call them
purposes. The direction of time in our consciousness is given by the fact that
as life proceeds experiences cause memories to accumulate rather than diminish.
It is a directional, asymmetrical process.
However, there is a single Law, the Second Law
of Thermodynamics that does cause time to have a direction. The Law states that
energy tends to flow from a place of high concentration to a place of low
concentration. It would require more energy to cause it to flow the other way.
In any closed system there will be a tendency for entropy (disorder) to
increase. Thus hot water tends to cool down and not the other way, and things
tend to break but never repair themselves. Some work has to be done to increase
order. This has been explained as follows:- In a system consisting of a number
of particles there are a much greater possible disordered states than ordered states.
Therefore, given a state of order and constant flux the probability that the
next state will be more disordered is greater. However, this is also inherently
time reversible. There does not seem to be an explanation for the Second Law of
Thermodynamics. There must have been a state of high Order or negentropy in the
beginning of the Universe integral to the Big Bang. This is inexplicable.
As we recognize things because they contain
order, then negentropy is connected with information. There must have been a
high degree of information in or prior to the Big Bang and the unfolding of the
Universe is due to the introduction of Information into it.
Evolution is increasing order, and this appears
to go against the mechanical process required by the Second Law of
Thermodynamics. We learn new things through conscious efforts. But these tend
to become automatic and habitual and then gradually fade away by becoming more
symmetrical such that fine details are lost. However, Evolution can take place
locally without flouting the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This is because the
increase in order locally can be achieved by an even greater increase in
disorder elsewhere. It can take place in the environment. Or in other entities.
The increase in disorder in the sun produces the radiation which absorbed on
earth produce the evolution of life here.
According to Quantum Theory, particularly the
Principle of Uncertainty there is uncertainty at the level of fundamental
particles. When an electron collides with an atom there is no invariable way it
will move. It is only possible to provide probabilities for any of its tracks
and, therefore, with anything else it will collide with. It is only when it has
collided that we have certainty. That is, we only know certainty when the
particle strikes the measuring device and gives its reading. The track between
one collision and another is a probability wave. We can regard the Universe as
a Quantum Field of fundamental particles moving and interacting. In fact they
are not particles but units of force or fuzzy waves all inter-dependent,
forming a net. They form a Field of Potentialities. Actuality arises from
moment to moment as the collisions or interactions take place and the Actual
World is a small part of the Field of Potentialities. We could define the Field
of Potentialities as the realm Of God. The Actual Universe is then seen as
being created and maintained at every instant just as the Quran asserts.
Purpose and existence are connected with views
about Space and Time. There are two views about these:-
(1)
The Relativistic – that space
and time refer to the relationship between events. Objectively they do not
exist as separate things.
(2)
The Substantivalist – that
space and time exist apart from objects like a canvas on which things may be
placed.
According to the principle of general Covariance
if two observers look at the same space-time from two different points of view
then one can change one into the other by simple transformation formulae. There
is nothing significance about the difference. According to Einstein’s Theory of
Relativity matter in space-time determine its shape. But if we visualize a
portion of empty space then that space is indeterminate. It could have any
shape, all of which are equivalent. We have a clash here between the two views.
The world described by Relativity theory in the substantive manner must contain
an indeterminate element. But Quantum Theory requires that the particles should
be measured in space and time, which ought, therefore to be substantive, but their
motion is indeterminate. It follows that the reality lies somewhere between the
two.
Logic, we have seen from previous articles deals
in dichotomies and words. It does not correspond to reality. The difference
between the world described by logic and that described by experience can be
illustrated as follows:-
A 7 meter wide river can be crossed over a plank
8 meter long.
4 + 4 = 8
Therefore, a 7 meter wide river can be crossed
over two planks 4 meters long.
But experience shows that this cannot be done.
From the point of view of experience:-
4 + 4 + x = 8, where x refers to the work
required to join the two planks.
More generally, because nothing is wholly
certain, all equations must have some factor x, which can be regarded as
referring to God, which determine what will really happen.
The Universe is certainly controlled by various
forces, which work according to laws. But :-
(1) The existence of these forces has to be
explained. They have been created by God.
(2) There are many kinds of forces – mechanical,
chemical, electronic, electromagnetic, biological, psychological, sociological,
and spiritual. Allah works directly or indirectly through all of these.
(3) The existence of a force does imply full
determinism. The force of Gravity exists but it produces variable
manifestations – different places and cosmic bodies have different
gravitational strengths. Nor does it prevent birds and airplanes from flying.
This depends on other laws and requires that a payment be made in energy to
overcome the gravity. Human beings are able to do and invent a variety of
things despite the existence of laws. It is not reasonable to argue that man
can create and introduce new events and things but God cannot!
However, if we study the world and explained all
things by laws we might not find the effects of human intelligence. When animal
and plant breeders do selective breeding to produce new varieties of animals
and plants, can one by examining these discover that man had a hand in
producing it?