In Conversation Podcast Explores Collective Inquiry Through Bahá’í Studies
The podcast explores the Bahá’í Studies Society’s efforts to enrich the intellectual life of the community through a consultative approach to scholarly inquiry.
BAHÁ’Í WORLD CENTRE – This podcast episode of Bahá’í World News Service explores the efforts of the Association for Bahá’í Studies of North America (ABS), which aims to enrich the intellectual life of the community.
Selvi Adaikkaram Zabich, Michael Carlberg, Malik Nash, and Negin Toussi join the News Service from the United States to discuss ABS’s unique approach to inquiry in the sciences and humanities.
Dr. Carlberg, a member of the ABS Co-Initiative Committee, explains that ABS “aims to facilitate the process of learning about how to apply the Baha’i teachings and the insights gained from the Baha’i experience for the betterment of humanity.”
He explains that one of the principles essential to the work of the ABS is the harmony of science and religion. Says Dr. Carlberg, “Part of that is learning how the application of spiritual principles, such as the principles of oneness and justice, can be related to the broader professional and academic context.”
Another member of the Association’s Joint Initiative Committee, Ms. Adaikkaram Zabihi, reflects on the impact of these principles on perceptions and social structures: “How we think about the world and how we think it works: …… It shapes the structure of society and …… shape our behavior.”
She emphasizes the complex relationship between thinking and social reality, stating: “If we cannot change the way we perceive and understand reality, we cannot change the structure.
This is where the role of consultation emerges as a crucial mechanism for gaining a deeper perspective on social reality in professional and academic settings, according to Dr. Toussi.
No one person or group can claim to understand all of reality,” she said, adding that through consultation “we can understand a bit more about the phenomena we are trying to study.”
Nash added that consultation can help address some of the challenges in traditional methodologies that insist on narrow interpretations of social problems.
This, he noted, “can lead to the very inequalities and structural problems that society is trying to overcome.” What the Bahá’í Research Association is trying to foster and learn more about is real-world collective inquiry…More
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