You wrote in response to me:
>> And I mistrust modernistic scientism with all it owes to Hume, not least
>> because it seems to be so arrogant and certain in its defiance of that
God.
>Based on this last sentence, it appears that you are referring to a
>philosophy of science that presupposes atheism.
I guess I'm talking about a cultural phenomenon which goes beyond
philosophy or even science but which (in the UK at least) to all intents
and purposes takes atheism for granted.
What I am confessing here is that I find myself mistrustful of claimed
scientific certainties which emanate from a culture which denies the things
that I am most certain about, and yet on the other hand I also fear the
morass of postmodernism which espouses as its only certainty that
everything is uncertain. Maybe I'm alone in sensing this tension, but I
suspect not.
I have to say that I even mistrust methodological naturalism especially
when it is proclaimed as a certainty and even when it is commended by a
believer. Perverse? Well, maybe! :-)
On the other hand I find it easy to agree with what you say about critical
realism.
Keith Walker
Wales, UK
PS I'm not wanting to start another round of debate on MN. That was just a
little bit of Brit humour!