January 26,2020 TFUSA Meeting

TFUSA Meeting Sunday, January 26,2020

Thinkers Forum USA

Cordially invites all participants to the monthly Meeting/Discussion

On Sunday, January 26, 2020

Time

12: 05 PM

To

2: 30 PM

Speaker

Fayyaz A Sheikh

Topic

General Discussion and South Africa

Moderator

Dr. Nasik Elahi

Location

Casa Del Mare

536 N. Highland Ave, Upper Nyack, N.Y. 10960

845 353 5353

Brunch served after lecture

Does science describe experience or truth?by James c. Zimring

Opinion: The Uncomfortable Limits of Human Knowledge

Science seems under assault. Attacks come from many directions, ranging from the political realm to groups and individuals masquerading as scientific entities. There is even a real risk that scientific fact will eventually be reduced to just another opinion, even when those facts describe natural phenomena—the very purpose for which science was developed. Hastening this erosion are hyperbolic claims of “truth” that science is often perceived to make and that practicing researchers may themselves project, whether intentionally or not.

I’m a researcher, and I get it. It seems difficult to explain the persistent success of scientific theories at describing nature, not to mention the constant march of technological advancement, without assigning at least some special epistemic status to those theories. I explore this challenge in my book, What Science Is and How It Really Works. If the history of science teaches us anything, it is that the ability of a theory to predict unobserved phenomena and lead to amazing new technologies is no proof that said theory is “true.”

Full Article

posted by f.sheikh

“Hadeeth Contradictions” submitted by Irshad Mahmood

AsSalaam O Alaikum (Peace be always with you. AMEEN.)

Hadeeth Contradictions

Contradictions_in_Hadeeth_Part_1.pdf

http://www.global-right-path.com/Downloads/Contradictions_in_Hadeeth_Part_1.pdf

Contradictions_in_Hadeeth_Part_2.pdf

http://www.global-right-path.com/Downloads/Contradictions_in_Hadeeth_Part_2.pdf

Contradictions_in_Hadeeth_Part_3.pdf

http://www.global-right-path.com/Downloads/Contradictions_in_Hadeeth_Part_3.pdf

Contradictions_in_Hadeeth_Part_4.pdf

http://www.global-right-path.com/Downloads/Contradictions_in_Hadeeth_Part_4.pdf

Can someone shed more light on these claims?    Editor

TFUSA Meeting Sunday, November 24th, 2019

Thinkers Forum USA

Cordially invites all participants to the monthly Meeting/Discussion

On Sunday, November 24, 2019

Time

12: 05 PM

To

2: 30 PM

Speaker

Fayyaz A Sheikh

Topic

Is Liberal Democracy necessary for Capitalism to flourish?

Moderator

Dr. Nasik Elahi

Location

Casa Del Mare

536 N. Highland Ave, Upper Nyack, N.Y. 10960

845 353 5353

Brunch served after lecture

Outline of topic for discussion.

Is Liberal Democracy necessary for Capitalism to flourish? (Brief thought by F. Sheikh).

James Wang argues in his article in Eurozone (https://www.eurozine.com/the-end-of-the-liberal-world-as-we-know-it/) that there is an alternative for capitalism to flourish without Liberal Democracy. He writes, “While the rest of the world concentrated on the fall of the Berlin Wall, another wall in China brought about a different type of change. The economic power the most populous country has accumulated is now challenging the western claim that only liberal democracy would provide ideal circumstances for capitalism.”

China’s economic policy confirms that capitalism and authoritarianism or one-party rule can not only exist together but also re-enforce each other. One party rule provides consistency, reliability and efficiency in streamlining the economic policies which provides assurances to capital markets to plan for the future. It eliminates the chaos and messiness of the liberal democracy. China’s success has given heart to former communist Eastern European countries which are keeping capitalism but abandoning liberal democracy and reverting back to authoritarianism. Even some Asian and Pacific countries are adopting the same model.

However, it is too early to make a conclusion and it needs more time to prove that this model is sustainable. When critical population mass in these countries is economically self-sufficient, will they settle for just economic success or ask for more personal liberties and civil rights? The author thinks China has already provided the answer to this. I think it is still too early to conclude and will need few more decades to have the answer. Up to now, USA has been accommodating to China and hoping for liberalization of Chin’s policies. But now, dissatisfied with China’s economic policies and surprising strength, USA has started to fight back and it creates uncertainty how the China will adjust, react, and that will impact not just upon the future relationship between capitalism and liberal democracy, but perhaps it will also provide the road map to follow in the future for all other countries.

I wrote above paragraphs few months ago as “Brief Thought” but did not posted it. Today I came across another Book Review article by Don Nexon  “Exit from Hegemony”. The author argues that every country is picking parts of liberalism as it suits it, and that could be a problem for liberal global order. Below is interesting chart of comparison between USA and China. 

http://www.exitfromhegemony.net/2019/11/03/there-isnt-one-way-of-doing-liberal-international-order-and-that-might-be-cause-for-alarm/

https://www.eurozine.com/the-end-of-the-liberal-world-as-we-know-it/