Contemporania

Culture and colonialism

I came across the following about the British poet Basil Bunting: https://academic.oup.com/res/article/74/315/389/7103434?login=false I pasted that into Chatgpt and asked, "Are there other people who simultaneously interacted with middle eastern culture while at the same time aiding Britain's colonial enterprise?" It came back with the following: Yes, several notable individuals interacted with Middle Eastern cultures while contributing to Britain

December 4, 2024

Downsizing the Empire

The proposition that the British Empire "never really went away" but instead "downsized" reflects a view of post-colonial influence that suggests continuity between the British Empire's formal rule and its present-day economic and political ties, particularly with the rich Arab Gulf states. While the British Empire as a formal political entity dissolved in the mid-20th century, this perspective argues that Britain's influence persisted, transforming from direct colonial rule to a more subtle but

August 22, 2024

Would Palestinian passivity have led to a different outcome?

What follows below, starting with "Historical Context" is chatgpt's analysis. My initial prompt is in the next post. The analysis starts with a statement of historical 'facts', framed pretty much in the way you would expect a western source to analyse the issue. But the section that chatgpt titles, "Hypothetical outcomes ..." and the "Conclusion" are not exactly what I would have expected such a source to say, perhaps it's the result of how I wrote the original prompt? The

August 4, 2024

The fall of the Berlin Wall - not so much of a victory for the West

[The Berlin Wall today is home to various artistic pieces. I took this image of the last East German leader, Erich Honecker, portrayed as a Roman emperor.] The reply I received from chatgpt. The original query is in the next post and after that the original framing query. The proposition that the fall of the Berlin Wall was seen as a massive victory over communism, but has since led to the rise of China as a more formidable challenge, is an interesting perspective that wa

August 3, 2024

Economics

Addressing Chinese dominance

Summary This post is about investigating possible non-military courses of action open to China's adversaries. I have previously argued that the conflict in Ukraine is a precursor to muscular action against China. In this post I am going to analyse how China stands on various metrics and pursue a line of enquiry that investigates the possibilities for economic rather than military action. To be clear about my overall stance, I prefer a multi-polar world, which no one country domina

Haji 2003 in Economics

July 20, 2024

Lifestyle

Hatshepsut & Nefertari

The view from the Temple of Hatshepsut. Maryam had the idea for how this would work and it did with some post-processing. Both ancient Egyptian queens and both with a seemingly new cult in the 21st century. Obviously, the cult is not among actual worshippers but amongst tourists keen to see their monuments. Nefertari was the favourite wife of Pharaoh Ramesses II and as for Hatshepsut this is what Wikipedia has to say: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut While I

Haji 2003 in Lifestyle

July 1, 2024

Rationality

The problem with beliefs is one that is not specific to religion

Despite the prevailing data indicating that the majority of journeys undertaken by drivers in the United States span 50 miles or less, there persists a notable hesitation among many to embrace electric vehicles (EVs). This reluctance is largely attributed to "range anxiety," a term used to describe the fear that an EV will not possess sufficient battery life to cover long distances on a single charge. This phenomenon serves as a compelling example of how beliefs, often diverging from empirical r

Haji 2003 in Rationality

March 3, 2024

Economics

All this on a Ford factory worker's wages

Why has the West seen falling living standards? Variations on this question are commonly asked on social media. The common theme is that living standards in the West used to be so good but what happened? Popular answers to the following tweet include: But they didn't have internet and dad worked 50-60 hours a week Our rulers sent jobs overseas Women thought it would be a good idea to work Bigger government Inflation I think the real answers ar

Haji 2003 in Economics

January 21, 2024

Speculation in the absence of information

Summary Iran is often accused of sponsoring groups such as Hamas. But what form is any help likely to take? Some speculative answers in the absence of any tangible proof. Background A short period after the Iranian revolution in 1979, Saddam Hussain, the Iraqi President decided to invade the country. He was funded by the Saudis and Kuwaitis amongst others and supplied by various western countries. Iran was embargoed. So they had to develop their own capabilities both in terms of h

December 20, 2023

The predictability of violence

Summary After October 7th 2023, there has been horror as to what happened on that day, with the rebuttal that the history of the conflict provides explanatory context. This article examines historical analysis which suggests that the violence that occurred in the region 90 years ago was entirely predictable due to uncontrolled immigration. The Source This is a letter published by The Times newspaper on October 14 1936. The writer was a well-known academic/ historian who had visite

December 6, 2023

The Ismail (عليه السلام) & Isaac (عليه السلام) accounts. Comparisons.

Summary Using a decision theory framework, according to the Biblical account Abraham's decision-making is a direct response to a divine command, showcasing a hierarchical obedience. In contrast according to the Qur'anic version Ibrahim's decision-making involves communication and consensus, reflecting a more collaborative form of obedience. Introduction I was having a general chat with GPT4 about social science perspectives on the Qur'an and we ended up at a point where it seemed

September 25, 2023

Immanent concepts within the Qur'an

The conversation started in relation to the navigation thread, and the focus here is on immanence more broadly Thank you, I wanted to check the following. It is said that the notion of risk is immanent within the concept of trust because in order to demonstrate trust in someone you have to take a risk with them ... Are there any other pairs of concepts within the Qur'an that are more or less explicitly immanent within each other? The Qur'an frequently presents concepts in p

September 19, 2023

God Hypothesis

One day we'll all be philosophers

[This was originally written on November 25 2017 and was updated on Sept 13 2023, to include the graphic, headings and a summary, further updated on 27 May 2024 to include references to Artificial Intelligence] Summary There is an inverse relationship between human labour for any activity and the moral and ethical issues related to it. The less we work, because we have automation, for example, often the more we need to exercise moral and other consideration related to that work. As a r

Haji 2003 in God Hypothesis

September 13, 2023

Ships and the Qur'an and the epistemology of navigation

Summary Ships are an interesting phenomenon that are referred to in the Qur'an on a number of different occasions. For the Arabs at the time of revelation they would likely have been considered as an object that people made and used. The Qur'an points out that the source of the innovation is God and that they are an example of His Mercy. My belief as a layperson is that this supports the contention that Islam is supportive of product innovation. Once we s

September 11, 2023

Ethics

Unintended consequences of veganism

[This blog was first written in 2018 and has been updated] A vegan professor writes https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/07/scientific-self-experiment-vegan-diet-meat-diet The vegan position in a nutshell Raising animals to be eaten is cruel Killing animals prematurely is cruel And there are environmental issues as well My counter-vegan proposition The cruelty arises in terms of how the animals are raised - there can be humane m

Haji 2003 in Ethics

September 7, 2023

Behaviour - semantic relationships vs. thematic links in the Qur'an

Summary Assessing our behaviour and making modifications to it in order to improve our welfare are significant aspects of human life. I explored this concept with gpt4. In addition to various insights this time the discussion also touched on the distinction between dealing with semantic relationships based on root derivations and those conceptual relationships that are based on more thematic or narrative connections. So, for example, GPT4 identifies the relationship between the r

September 4, 2023

'Loss' in the Qur'an & associated constructs

Introduction This was an interesting exercise. My initial prompts encouraged gpt4 to focus on the English word 'loss' in the initial root analysis that it did. I had to reset the analysis to focus on the relationship between Arabic words. Summary (partial, a reply to this post will contain the second set of analysis and associated summary) In essence, the interconnectedness of these roots F-Q-D, D-N-Y, and ‘-Q-L in the Qur'an underscores the idea that an excessive focus on the

September 3, 2023

Qur'an - the epistemology of travel

Summary (TLDR) In summary, while the Qur'an acknowledges various sources and forms of knowledge, the association of "آيات" with travel underscores the value of experiential and observational knowledge. It emphasizes that traveling and exploring the world is not just a physical endeavor but also a deeply intellectual and spiritual journey that offers unique insights and lessons. Are there any other roots that consistently appear in close proximity (same or neighbouring ayats) to

September 1, 2023

Mercy and Destruction in the Qur'an

Summary (TLDR) The following is from the conclusions to this exercise: While these are just a few examples, they showcase the interconnectedness of these roots (replacement, destruction and succession) and their themes in the Qur'anic narrative. The roots, while distinct in their primary meanings, often overlap in the broader thematic context, emphasizing the cyclical nature of history, divine justice, and the consequences of human actions. These examples showcase the Qur'an'