Epistemological criticism of the foundations of orientalist thought - establishment and transcendence

Abstract

This study aims to criticize Orientalist thought by identifying its strengths and weaknesses. Through this study, we also seek to show the lapses and mistakes that Orientalism made, whether intentionally or due to lack of knowledge and ignorance of the subject of the study. The main goal lies in highlighting the methodological and epistemological shortcomings that the Orientalists fell into and trying to overcome them, on the one hand, and on the other hand, trying to benefit from Orientalist studies and employ them in order to re-read the heritage in a critical and objective manner, far from emotions and dogmatic beliefs. For this reason, our problem came in the form of a double criticism of Orientalists and Arab and Muslim researchers who dealt with the subject of Orientalism and used their writings and pens to respond to it, where the focus was on the methodological and epistemological aspects that both groups neglected. The critical analytical approach was adopted in this study. Among the results obtained is that Orientalism has many pitfalls and shortcomings that must be corrected, and on the other hand, it has many advantages that must be taken advantage of and employed to re-read, examine and understand the heritage in a deep way to bring about a civilization, scientific and cultural renaissance worthy of the history of this nation.