Re: supernatural observation & faith def.

Paul A. Nelson (pnelson2@ix.netcom.com)
Mon, 30 Sep 1996 12:13:48 -0700

Dear Stephen:

Some confusion here.

The point at issue in my post concerns Tom Moore's apparent
claim that "supernatural ID" is (probably) an in-principle
untestable or empirically empty theory.

That's false. Darwin's entire published corpus, including
his transformation notebooks, refutes it.

Whether any *current* ID theory is similarly testable or
observationally at risk is an open question. But claims about
the in-principle untestability of ID ought to be tempered by (a) the
historical record, and (b) one's own scientific imagination.

This isn't a matter of "using ID theory where it isn't needed."
The question, rather, turns on whether one can *conceive* of
an ID theory that rules out possibly observable states of
affairs -- in philosophical jargon, that sustains counterfactuals.

And the answer is, not only are such theories conceivable,
they exist.

Paul Nelson