Limits of Science Flashcards
The definition of science
The precise definition of science is illusive
Philosopher of Science Michael Ruse’s definition of science
Science ‘by definition deals only with the natural, the repeatable, that which is governed by law. “
What is the weakness of Ruse’s definition?
It would rule out most of contemporary cosmology as science since the origin of the universe is not (easily) repeatable.
What is Abduction?
The method of inference to the best explanation.
To what events does abduction apply?
To repeatable and unrepeatable events.
What kind of science carries more authority and which less?
Scientific theory based on repeated observation and experimentation carries more authority than that which is based on abduction.
What is the danger of failing to appreciate the difference between repeated observation and abduction?
The danger of endowing the theories based on abduction with the same authority as the theories based on repeated observation.
The Enlightenment ideal of the rational scientific observer free from all preconceived theories…
Is a simplistic myth. Scientists have preconceived ideas and worldviews they bring to bear on every situation.
Immunologist George Klein admits his atheism is not based on science but on an a priori belief.
“I am not an agnostic. I am an atheist. My attitude is not based on science, but rather on faith.”
Geneticist Richard Lewontin confesses that his materialistic convictions are a priori and do not derive from science.
It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations…
Bertrand Russel quote & question
“What science cannot discover, mankind cannot know.”
What scientific discovery taught you this?
Austin Farrar quote about God and the limits of science
“…since God is not a part of the world, still less an aspect of it, nothing that is said about God, however truly, can be a statement belonging to any science.”
The statement that only science can lead to truth…
Is not itself deduced from science. It is not a scientific statement but rather a statement about science (a meta scientific statement).
Who makes science look ridiculous?
Those scientists who make exaggerated claims for science and unconsciously wander from doing science into myth-making.
Does revelation require one to abandon reason and evidence?
No. Reason and evidence are required to understand and evaluate revelation. (Aunt Matilda’s Cake)
