Manzoor Ahmed,

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

(

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Pakistani scientist and philosopher of

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

. He is a professor of philosophy and is currently serving as rector of Usman Institute of Technology (UIT) in Karachi, Sindh Province. He has international prestige for publishing articles, books, and leading edge research on the field of

Philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ult ...

, particularly the philosophy of

space and time Space and Time or Time and Space, or ''variation'', may refer to: * '' Space and time'' or ''time and space'' or ''spacetime'', any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single interwoven continuum * Philosophy of space and time S ...

Biography

Early life and education

Manzoor Ahmed was born into an

Urdu-speaking Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccani people of the Deccan plateau in south-central India (who speak Deccani Urdu) and the M ...

family, in Rampur,

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

on 11 March 1934. His parents home schooled him, and he was later enrolled in a local middle school. He was a child prodigy, and enrolled in

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

at the age of seven, where he excelled. Ahmad graduated from high school, and stood first in the matriculation examination for the state. He attended Raza Inter-College (RIC) where he studied science and philosophy, and stood first in the college examination for university transfer. Ahmad was persuaded by his family to study

medicines A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

; he therefore applied for three medical schools— King George Medical University in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

King Edward Medical College King Edward Medical University (KEMU) () is a public medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1860, the university is named after King Edward VII. Established by the British Raj, named as Lahore Medical School. In 1868 ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, and

Dow Medical College Dow Medical College is a public medical school located in the city of Karachi, Sindh. It was founded in 1945 and named after British civil servant Sir Hugh Dow, Governor of Sindh. In 2003, it became a constituent college of the newly forme ...

in Karachi. However, Ahmad decided to pursue his inclination for philosophy and did not join any of these institutions. He moved to Karachi, Sindh Province and joined S.M. Arts College. In 1947, Ahmad acquired the Pakistani

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

, joining

Karachi University The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh ...

in 1951. There he studied physics, mathematics and philosophy, and obtained a minor in Mathematics, and a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

(Hons) in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and a BA in Philosophy in 1953. In 1955, Ahmad obtained a MA in philosophy from the same university. With a HEC scholarship, Ahmad went to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to attend the school of his choice. Ahmad enrolled in a doctoral programme at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

. Continuing his interest in physics, Ahmad was awarded a doctorate in

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ult ...

, with a focus on the mathematical and philosophical notion of space and time continuum.

Academic career

Since his return to his country, Ahmad has worked for the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

, as head of various national and international organizations. He is also an active member of the

Council of Islamic Ideology Council of Islamic Ideology (CII; ( ur, ) is a constitutional body of Pakistan, responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the government and the Parliament. This body was founded in 1962 under the government of Ayub Khan. Funct ...

in Pakistan. After returning to Pakistan, Ahmad became associated to the

and has directed their Department of Philosophy; he was later appointed as the Dean of their faculty of Fine Arts. Ahmad was the President of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress (PPC), which works for the improvement of

Philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

studies in the country. He was a Fulbright scholar, and has lectured on philosophy of science at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

. He was also awarded fellowships by the Brown Foundation and the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

. Ahmad held the vice-chancellorship of

Hamdard University Hamdard University ( ur, ) is a private research university with campuses in Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan.Usman Institute of Technology (UIT). He is the Rector of the Islamic International University,

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

and Chairman of the Board of Governors for the

Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture () ( sd, انڊس ويلي اسڪول آف آرٽ اينڊ آرڪيٽيڪچر) is a not-for-profit degree awarding institution in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The university was established in 1989, ther ...

(IVS).

Philosophy, science and consciousness

Ahmad has written important books about the relation between consciousness, science and philosophy. In his article, ''The Notion of Existence'', Ahmad argued that the impact of scientific development has created the problem of the subjectivity of sense qualities and a separation between knowledge and existence. Ahmad further noted that, "the picture of the world given by immediate perception is totally different from what the world actually is, leading to an opposition between existence and true knowledge. Galileo's solution is that this difference between knowledge and existence disappears to a certain extent in the clearest knowledge we possess, i.e. mathematical knowledge." However, Ahmad believes in the theory of

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics ...

and cited that "without the existence of the

Spacetime In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold. Spacetime diagrams can be used to visualize relativistic effects, such as why differ ...

continuum, the universe would not exist and we would not exist".

Selected works

* ''History of Philosophy'' * ''Morality and Law'' * ''Pakistan: Prospects and Perspectives'' * ''Iqbal Shanasi'' * ''Islam: Chand Fikri Masail'' * ''Religious Wisdom''

References

External links

Islamic Nazaryati Council

History of UIT

Interview Transcript from UITEC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Manzoor 1934 births Living people Pakistani scholars Muhajir people Pakistani writers Pakistani philosophers People from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh Alumni of the University of London Philosophers of science