Salaams.People who have been following my posts know that despite my abhorrence for the usage of status- enhancing,pretentious Greek and Latin terms,I have been using the Greek term “Epistemology” a lot these deals.It is a very useful concept,I believe.But here is another one-“Heuristic” that is increasingly present in my consciousness.The Oxford Dictionary defines it this way:”enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves”.A better word than “pedagogy” -which is too obsessive and regulatory for my tastes-for the learning/teaching process.

So what are the implications of this term?” you may well ask.Well,I am coming to the conclusion that the essence of the life process is that it is designed as a heuristic exercise-i.e. a learning tool! Many other  people have seen this- through contemplating their own situations and life tests.

On top of this,we may have here one of the answers that has confounded the Islamic exegetes(_”mutafaseeroon”) for a long time.In the second and longest surat of the Quran,surat al Baqara,the angels, claivoyantly seeing what man will be up to on Earth, say the following::

“Wilt Thou place therein one who will make Mischief therein and shed blood?” protesting to God the Creation of man.And who can blame them once we look around us?! God swt answers:””I know what you know not”. Is it not then possible that this is one of the things that God knows?! That this whole earthly experience is a “heuristic” exercise-designed to teach us what we could not learn otherwise! What a Sublime and Magnificent teacher is our Lord!

Is it not time for our schooling systems to learn from Him,the Greatest Teacher,and  instead of setting up stress-laden.obsessional,misery-generating curriculum,perhaps they could attempt to set up contexts where real learning is possible. As opposed to contexts designed to test out our robotic-like intelligence and our capacity to manage unnecessary stress.Food for thought,no doubt!