ILSS: Yusuf Celik

On Tuesday, October 19, 2021, PIL Data Science Fellow, Dr. Yusuf Celik, presented “Islamicate Digital Humanities and Redefining the Hermeneutical Circle in the Age of Data Science.” Noting that one of the most recognizable tropes in hermeneutics is undoubtedly the ‘hermeneutical circle,’ Celik argued that this has symbolized the dialectical nature of our understanding, namely that we understand the whole from its parts and the parts within the whole to which they belong. Beginning with the tradition of rhetoric in ancient antiquity all the way up to and including present-day continental philosophy, various authors have defined the significance and the parameters of what constitutes the parts vis-à-vis the whole. However, with the increasing possibilities data science is offering the humanities, Celik contended that we must ask ourselves whether we have now entered a new era in which we are offered a renewed understanding of both the whole vis-à-vis the parts as well as the hermeneutical circle itself? Celik answered this question in relation to his recent attempts and publication concerning the data scientific analysis of Islamic law. This event was moderated by PIL Research Fellow, Dr. Hedayat Heikal. Watch the video today.