What It’s Like to Live in the Capital of the ‘Caliphate’

[DetlefK]

9. I've been reading lately on how the scientific method developed...

The mindset in ancient times and in the Middle-Ages was absolutely weird by today's standards. The answer to everything was "It's God's will."

The indoctrination was deep-rooted with millennia of cultural background. Doubting the teachings wasn't merely outlawed: It was incomprehensible and unthinkable. If you doubted the religious teachings, you were an idiot.

Example:
The ancient Greeks had philosophy, the ancient Romans had engineering and architecture. So, why was their technological advancement so slow compared to the most recent 500 years?
Because they simply didn't have the mindset for systematic experiments. They had trial&error for individual problems but rarely did experiments on the wider laws of nature. Because the thought of it was just too weird and outlandish.

It took 400 years (~1300 - ~1700), several historical coincidents and a few mad geniuses until we finally ended up with the scientific method.





The problem isn't religion per se. The problem is the mindset of belief, because it keeps you from checking whether something is correct or incorrect.

In that respect, the fanatic religious mindset in the current Middle-East reminds me a lot of the fanatic religious mindset of christian medieval Europe. I think, the muslim world needs more critical thinkers, a search, a desire to explore the uncomfortable and not to retreat into the safe confines of the belief. What the muslim world needs is a mental revolution, a Renaissance.