sledgehammer
Posts: 533
Joined: Sep. 2008
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| Quote (Joy @ Feb. 12 2010,09:27) | | Methodological naturalism is the guiding axiom of scientific inquiry. It is the baseline presumption that all phenomena subject to scientific examination and quantification are natural. IOW, science can't investigate and quantify things like ghosts, pixies, angels or gods because such things are by definition not natural. Science can investigate and quantify biological phenomena because life is natural. IDers often conflate methodological naturalism with philosophical naturalism. Philosophical naturalism holds that all phenomena (known and unknown) must be entirely natural, not just the phenomena science can investigate. |
I think the reason that investigation of "ghosts, pixies, angels or gods" and such are not considered science is not because they are defined as "not natural", but because they are notoriously un-repeatable, which makes experimentation and hypothesis testing extremely difficult, if not impossible. If ghosts, miracles, etc. were phenomena that could be produced on demand, they could, and would, be subject to scientific investigation, ala e.g. "Mythbusters".
Even random, noiselike phenomena like radioactive decay, unpredictable for a single nucleus, are statistically predictable to a high degree of accuracy, and hence are amenable to scientific investigation.
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The majority of the stupid is invincible and guaranteed for all time. The terror of their tyranny is alleviated by their lack of consistency. -A. Einstein (H/T, JAD)
If evolution is true, you could not know that it's true because your brain is nothing but chemicals. ?Think about that. -K. Hovind
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