Page 158 - Allah is Known through Reason

The starting-point of this approach is that the notion of an "external
world" shaped in our brain is only a response created in our brain by elec-
trical signals. The redness of apples, the hardness of wood and, moreover,
your mother, father, family, and everything that you own, your house, job,
and the lines of this book, are comprised only of electrical signals.
Frederick Vester explains the point that science has reached on this sub-
ject:

Statements of some scientists posing that "man is an image, everything
experienced is temporary and deceptive, and this universe is a shadow",
seems to be proven by science in our day. 25
The famous philosopher, George Berkeley commented on the subject
as follows:

We believe in the existence of objects just because we see and touch them,
and they are reflected to us by our perceptions. However, our perceptions
are only ideas in our mind. Thus, objects we captivate by perceptions are
nothing but ideas, and these ideas are essentially in nowhere but our mind…
Since all these exist only in the mind, then it means that we are beguiled by
deceptions when we imagine the universe and things to have an exis-
tence outside the mind. So, none of the surrounding things have an exis-
tence out of our mind. 26
In order to clarify the subject, let us consider our sense of sight, which
provides us with the most extensive information about the external world.

Stimulations
coming from an
object are con-
verted into elec-
trical signals and
cause effects in
the brain. When
we "see", we in
fact view the
effects of these
electrical signals
in our mind.

158 Allah is Known Through Reason