Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: freedumb2003

an idiot that has “faith” in a theory that has no tangible proof yet accuse Creationists of the same thing.


12 posted on 07/28/2013 4:32:32 PM PDT by fish hawk (no tyrant can remain in power without the consent and cooperation of his victims.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies ]


To: fish hawk
fish hawk: "an idiot that has “faith” in a theory that has no tangible proof yet accuse Creationists of the same thing."

Of course, there is no scientific "faith", since to become a faith, science must be elevated from methodological to philosophical naturalism, and philosophical naturalism, by definition, is not science, it's religion.

Can I say that more simply?
Science is intended to be a box of tools, highly useful in building or repairing our material needs -- that's methodological naturalism.
But if we set our box of tools up on some alter, and bow down to worship it, that does not increase the utility of those tools, and makes us into idiots -- that's philosophical naturalism.

Nor does science ever use the term "tangible proof" relating to hypotheses and theories.
Instead, hypotheses are "confirmed" according to their ability to make strong predictions and withstand falsifiable tests.

Since basic evolution hypotheses have passed these tests many times, they are considered "confirmed theories".

And scientists do not have "faith" in a theory.
Instead, like other tools in their tool-box, scientists use the theory in every-day work, until it produces some result they didn't expect.

Then they sit down, scratch their heads, and begin work on some new hypothesis to explain their unexpected results.

That's what science is all about.

19 posted on 07/28/2013 6:18:20 PM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson