: "does a basic unit of existence have knowable essential characteristics, or are these applied by its /relation/ to other such units?"
the answer to this has huge repercussions. if a basic unit has a knowable essence, it follows that so too do aggregate units. among others, the case for deconstructing relativism is based off this, as is (though stretched) that for giving absolute legislative powers to God alone.
every night before taraweeh babaji gives a short talk, a 'thematic commentary of the qur'an". today, dealing with various strands in surah an-nisaa' (chapter called 'women') which are the bases for contemporary critiques vs. islam, those claiming it is backward and sexist because it permits a man (given certain conditions) to take up to four wives, because its inheritance laws give less to daughters than sons, and so on. his main point, which i felt was very relevant: many muslims, when confronted with these "arguments", seek to justify them apologetically ("the situation in makkah/ madinah of that time was such that this was called for..."), but this approach - though its points may very well be valid - ignores a more foundational point, that it is God alone Who has absolute legislative powers, because it is He alone Who comprehensively knows our human condition and under what circumstances we would best operate. is He not the best-placed to delineate, having created and fashioned us in the first place?
these two points (paragraphs) corelate. i had more points to make off this, but it is late and i have sunday school to teach and a large essay to write tomorrow, so after a picture it is nach'm bett fu:r mich.
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this picture was taken to be an LP cover, except LPs it seems are out of business. at any rate, a man filling up a waterbottle at a fountain below a great stone arch. july05.
