Re: [asa] Science's Blind Spot: The Unseen Religion of Scientific Naturalism

Of course scientists are interested in the "whole truth." That's why they
adopt philosophical, theological and other positions. Some of them are so
ignorant of philosophical matters that they claim that science is the
:whole truth." Most of them know better. Some are devoutly committed to a
religious viewpoint.

Anyone who thinks that there has to be more than a natural explanation
for natural phenomena in science needs to go back and study the period of
vitalism, which argued for an "elan vital" to explain life, but only
because they were ignorant of subtle causes. Recall that the established
"truth" was that organic compounds could only be made by living things.

Polkinghorne recognizes something beyond our desire for truth, that human
beings are fallible and limited in additional ways. At one time the best
scientific explanations available depended on caloric, phlogiston or
ether (aether for Iain and Michael). It wasn't until Tycho made more
exact observations than anyone previously, and Kepler went through every
combination of cycles and epicycles he could work out, that the work of
Newton was possible, explaining why the orbits are elliptical (provided
there is no third body anywhere near). But the Cartesian framework has
been left behind with relativity, though Whitehead tried mightily to
retain it. And the approach to greater accuracy and comprehensiveness
continues. Will it be strings, or are strings not even wrong?
Dave (ASA)

On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:08:37 -0600 Carol or John Burgeson
<burgytwo@juno.com> writes:
Howard wrote: "Therefore MN may or may not be a way of doing science but
it can't lead to the whole truth. Are not most scientists interested in
the whole truth?"

I find John Polkinghorne's writings on this most helpful. He argues
(well, I think) that verisimilitude is the goal of science, not "truth."

Burgy

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Received on Tue Jul 24 17:49:02 2007