ALFONSEC@EMDCCI11.BITNET (08/23/88)
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 88 10:38 EDT To: AILIST@ai.ai.mit.edu From: ALFONSEC%EMDCCI11.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU Comment: CROSSNET mail via SMTP@INTERBIT Subject: The Godless asumption Date: Mon, 22 Aug 88 10:31 EDT Sec: Security Classification U/I/C From: ALFONSEC@EMDCCI11 To: AILIST@AI.AI.MIT.EDU at EDU I was surprised at Professor Minsky's use of so naive an argument against Religion. If Religion is discredited because Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake in 1600, then Science is discredited because 120,000 people were burned in Hiroshima in 1945. In actual fact, neither Religion nor Science are discredited because of that, only people who do things can be discredited by them. Theories are discredited by negative evidence or by reason. And this takes me to another append (which unfortunately I have lost, and do not recall the signer) where it was stated that Religion and Reason are contradictory. I challenge this assertion. For it to be true, there should exist an argumentation that starting at a set of axioms accepted by everybody, and through a set of reasonable steps, would arrive to the conclusion "God does not exist". I do not know of such an argument. God's existence or non-existence is an axiom for most of us, and axioms are not "Reason". M. Alfonseca (Usual disclaimer)
mantha@CS.UTAH.EDU (Surya M Mantha) (08/25/88)
Date: Tue, 23 Aug 88 13:27 EDT From: Surya M Mantha <mantha@cs.utah.edu> Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest Subject: Re: The Godless asumption Summary: Expires: References: <19880823022404.5.NICK@HOWARD-JOHNSONS.LCS.MIT.EDU> Sender: Surya M Mantha) Followup-To: Distribution: Organization: University of Utah CS Dept Keywords: Apparently-To: ailist@stripe.sri.com In a previous article, ALFONSEC@EMDCCI11.BITNET writes: > >burned in Hiroshima in 1945. In actual fact, neither Religion nor Science >are discredited because of that, only people who do things can be discredited >by them. Theories are discredited by negative evidence or by reason. > Not surprising!! This line of reasoning I mean. It is one that is mostly commonly used to defend institutions that are inherently unjust undemocratic and intolerant. The blame always lies with "people". The institution itself ( be it "organized religion", "socialism", "state capitalism") is beyond reproach. Afterall, it does not owe its existence to man does it? >M. Alfonseca > >(Usual disclaimer) Surya Mantha Department of Computer Science University of Utah Salt Lake City
grossi@csinn.UUCP (Thomas Grossi) (08/25/88)
To: comp-ai-digest@uunet.UU.NET Path: imag!csinn!grossi From: Thomas Grossi <mcvax!csinn!grossi@uunet.UU.NET> Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest Subject: Re: The Godless asumption Date: Wed, 24 Aug 88 06:00 EDT References: <19880823022404.5.NICK@HOWARD-JOHNSONS.LCS.MIT.EDU> Organization: Cap Sogeti Innovation, Grenoble, France Lines: 11 In a previous article, ALFONSEC@EMDCCI11.BITNET writes: > .... If Religion is discredited because Giordano Bruno was burnt at > the stake in 1600, then Science is discredited because 120,000 people were > burned in Hiroshima in 1945. No, World Politics is discredited: the bomb was dropped for political reasons, not scientific ones. Science provided the means, as it did (in a certain sense) for Religion as well. Thomas Grossi grossi@capsogeti.fr