Arabic Margins U Epistemology in Life By Dr. Mohammed Al Shahat When the ancient man knew writing, perhaps he didn’t realize that he had a destructive weapon which is thought to transfer humanity from the necessity level to that of freedom. Writing rescued the man from seeking food, drink, clothing and all these transient everyday necessities where man is the only thinking creature. He will live happily on the earth while searching for learning, ethics, culture and arts. Descarte’s cogito principle (i.e. I think so, I exist) is what made the human existence and thinking non-separable. Thinking is a systematic accumulative process that is endless as long as man is still alive. This principle itself is what Taha Hussain functioned as a starting point to write his culturally-shocking book entitled Fi-Sheaar Al-Jahely (1926). What Taha Hussain did was a great emphasis on the Arab mind’s right, at the beginning of the twentieth century, to discuss some debatable questions initiated by Al- Akkad and Al-Mazeny in their book entitled Al-Diwan Fi Al-Adab wa Al-Naqd (1921). Later, a series of hotly-debated texts and books were issued in the course of Arab literature, criticism and thought. Based on this series, a number of books came into being such as In Egyptian culture (1955) by Mahmoud Ameen Al-Aalem and Abdel Azeem Anees, Renewal of the Arab Thought (1971) by Zaki Naguib Mahmoud, The fixed and the changeable: Search in conventionality and creativity among the Arabs (1973) by Adonis, Criticizing the Arab Mind (1982-1990) by Mohamed Aabed AL-Jaberi, as well as many other studies written by Mohammed Arkoun, Nasr Hamed Abu Zeid and Others. 3T 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 3T 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 3T 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T Following the current waves of the Arab Spring, contemporary Arabs are in a bad need of distinguishing metaphysics from knowledge, false battle between mythology and science, and political discourse from religion. Epistemology, which is deemed to implant values of respecting knowledge in our children as well as ourselves, should be highly valued. Epistemology, as a theory of knowledge, is not only limited to the natural sciences such as medicine, engineering, agriculture, economy… etc., but also to the human one in which religion sciences is included rather. Religion, especially, needs to be 3T 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 1 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 viewed as a scientific discourse and not merely a sermon or a speech. This will help us, as Arab people, to produce religious, political and media discourses based on the principles of truth, virtue, beauty, justice and peace. 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T Once a day it might be said that epistemology play an important role in our life. To reach that point of consciousness, epistemology should be the starting point in analyzing the intertwined conceptual trinity (religion, politics and media) to guide the future of Arab culture. We need to do this before being submerged by the flood of hateful demagoguery, partisanship and lying. 2T 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3 2T3