You sent the following:
>A number of physical scientists whom I have corresponded with have
>argued that science makes no metaphysical assumptions about reality at
>all, but is instead, satisfied with acknowledging that there is
>something out there (some consistency of external experience) and they
>move on from there. In others words, many don't even consider the issue
>of reality an interesting or worthwhile question. A few don't even want
>to talk about it, period. And a few others claim that science makes no
>such assumptions. What are your views on this?
>
As a biochemist, it seems to me that I make at least one very important
assumption in my science: observation is related to reality. For
instance, if we observe Supernova 1987a, the explosion really took
place. If we find an overwhelming body of evidence that the earth is
old, based on the presence of signs of decay and aging, then the earth
is probably old. This may not be clear, but I have made some type of
committment to the data. Some friends of mine feel free to ignore the
data because of prior religious beliefs, but I can't.
>Jim Behnke, Asbury College, Wilmore, KY 40390 james.behnke@asbury.edu