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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!!
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To: Dayuhan who wrote (83719)7/12/2000 11:02:33 PM
From: The Philosopher  Read Replies (1) of 108807
 
The basic principle of science is that conclusions should be based on observation, experimentation, and accumulation of physical evidence...

That makes my point. Science has to take on faith the principle of observation -- that what you see is what you see. Also, the now threatened principle that observation doesn't change the event. It's turning out now that the existence of an observer can change some events. This threatens the very foundation of scientific examination in those events.

Scientists have to believe that experiments have meaning. It's impossible to prove that they do; has to be taken on faith.

And, of course, scientists have to believe that they are not all the figments of your fertile imagination, but that they actually exist and that the things they think they are measuring actually exist.

And on and on.

I'm not saying that the principles science takes on faith aren't reasonable. Just that they exist. Descartes not withstanding, it is impossible to get anywhere unless you start with some unprovable assumptions which are simply accepted on faith, until proved wrong.

The moment we find something that doesn't fall when dropped, the law of gravity goes
out the window.

I just dropped a helium balloon and it didn't fall. Bye bye theory of gravity! (I know, I'm quibbling, but you quibbled at me last message! <g>)
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