cbo@utai.UUCP (Calvin Bruce Ostrum) (09/14/86)
Mike Huybensz (cybvax0!mrh) writes: | In favor of the Christian god we have claims that are either unprovable or | essentially identical to those of many other religions, which have also | been "verified by millions". | | In favor of science, we have claims that have enabled agricultural, medical, | military, communication, transportation, and luxury revolutions unprecedented | in the history of the world. The choice is simple. Two points: Don't give so much credit to man and his science that you forget that reality has to meet him half way. Reality deserves some credit for being such a way, objectively and indepdendently of man, so as to enable man's science to work. Isn't it just a little bit of a mystery as to how reality manages to be that way? Also, to use Mike's term, isn't it a little bit of a ``logical flaw'' to be comparing apples and oranges? I don't think many religions claim to be able to produce the results produced by technology. Should that bother them? An intriguing excerpt from Paul Feyerabend (who is a very articulate and able philosopher of science): "[Science's] results will appear magnificent to some traditions, execrable to others, barely worth a yawn to still further traditions. Of course, our well conditioned materialistic contemporaries are liable to burst with excitement over events such as the moonshots, the double helix, non-equilibrium thermodynamics. But let us look at the matter from a different point of view, and it becomes a ridiculous exercise in futility. It needed billions of dollars, thousands of well trained assistants, years of hard work to enable some inarticulate and rather limited comtemporaries to perform a few graceless hops in a place nobody in his right might would think of visiting -- a dried out, airless, hot stone. But mystics, using only their minds travelled across the celestial spheres to God himself whom them viewed in all his splendour receiving strength for continuing their lives and enlightenment for themselves and their fellow men. It is only the illiteracy of the general public and of their stern trainers, the intellectuals, and their amazing lack of imagination that makes them reject such comparisons without further ado." Calvin Bruce Ostrum, University of Toronto Department of Computer Science uucp: {ihnp4 decwrl utzoo uw-beaver decvax allegra linus}!utcsri!utai!cbo arpa: cbo%toronto@csnet-relay csnet: cbo@toronto