Rhazes2


	The Rational Argumentator A Journal for Western Man-- Issue VI

Rhazes: The Thinking Western Physician Part II G. Stolyarov II


Rhazes was a staunch foe of fanaticism and authoritarianism, as manifested by his outright opposition to all forms of mystical revelation and �insight�. He also recognized the flawed nature of religious texts, ritual practices, and fables, commenting on the matter, �How can anyone think philosophically while committed to those old wives� tales founded on contradictions, obdurate ignorance, and dogmatism?� Ultimately this resulted in a judgment that no man was inherently superior to another, that distinction must be earned, not given via the favor of some cosmic (or earthly) bureaucrat. Rhazes believed ideological discourse and disagreement to be the most fruitful for an atmosphere of learning and progress, as they encouraged critical analysis and a reliance on no authority beyond that of one�s rational mind. His works, although not mentioning the concept overtly, hint at an early philosophy of individual rights. Nevertheless, this is one belief which we may soundly derive from his other doctrines and thereby conclude that on numerous crucial levels, Rhazes was an Objectivist! Alas, the world of his time neglected to realize the marvelous treasure that was his work. Goodman reveals that �given the general repugnance toward al-Razi�s philosophical ideas among his contemporaries and Medieval successors, few of those works were copied.� The bumbling clerics with their flat-earth cosmology, Galenic physiology, and divine-right politics then possessed a tyrannical monopoly on learning and chose to disregard the forward-thinking discoveries of al-Razi in exchange for a mystic muck of censorship, bloodshed, and technological stagnation for some seven centuries, from 500 to 1200. When al-Hawi was at last translated into Latin, Thomas Aquinas was already working on introducing the antidote of Aristotelian reason into the poison of early militant Christianity, and the foundations of the Renaissance were already emerging. Five centuries were required to fully appreciate Rhazes� insightful contributions, but today we may benefit from the fruits of his labor. To physicians of modernity, Rhazes� advice lingers in as potent a manner as ever. You, doctors of America, are facing an extraordinarily similar form of repression today as statist Medicare bureaucrats are barring you from choosing your patients, your tools, and your methods, while New Left socialists curtail your rightful rewards for rendering services your patients would otherwise have been more than happy to pay for. You must become philosophers yourselves and wage a comprehensive ideological war against irrationalism, mysticism, altruism, and statism by embracing an objective metaphysics, a rational epistemology, an individualist ethics, and a laissez-faire politics. Like Rhazes, I urge you to become Objectivists. Your resources today are far more bountiful than his had been, and you have in your arsenal the works of another prodigious thinker, Ayn Rand. May it serve as a beacon of truth for you in your work and in defending the integrity thereof. Bibliography Ahmad, Brodsky, et al. World Cultures: A Global Mosaic. Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1996. �Muhammad al-Razi, Islamic Physician�. p. 574. Bio-Bibliographies. �Razi, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya�. Available September 22, 2002: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/arabic/bioR.html. Goodman, I.E. Islamic Philosophy Online. �Al-Razi (Rhazes)�. Available September 22, 2002: http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ei/razi.htm.

G. Stolyarov II is a science fiction novelist, independent philosophical essayist, poet, contributor to Enter Stage Right Internet Magazine, and Editor-in-Chief of The Rational Argumentator. He is also a member of the Objective Medicine Group, a philosophical forum devoted to championing the right of physicians to freely practice their trade. Mr. Stolyarov can be contacted at [email protected].		Do you wish to be a champion of reason like Rhazes? Submit your works to us at [email protected].


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