Re: Evolution is alive and well
Moorad Alexanian (alexanian@UNCWIL.EDU)
Fri, 09 Oct 1998 11:59:06 -0500 (EST)
At 08:16 AM 10/9/98 +1000, Jonathan Clarke wrote:
>Greetings
>
>Moorad Alexanian wrote:
>
>> At 02:52 PM 10/7/98 -0500, Glenn R. Morton wrote:
>> >At 01:58 PM 10/7/98 -0500, Moorad Alexanian wrote:
>> >>I fail to see how evolutionary theory is a la par with basic physics. That
>> >>sort of comparison pretends a scientific respectability for evolutionary
>> >>theory which it clearly does not possess.
>> >
>> >Considering that most scientists (in most disciplines) are evolutionists, I
>> >fail to see who it is that doesn't give evolutionary theory respect. Can
>> >you document who and what percent of scientists don't respect evolutionary
>> >theory?
>> >glenn
>>
>> There all sorts of "scientists," political scientists, social scientists,
>> etc. Therefore, we have to be careful of whom we mean. My statement still
>> stands that evolutionary theory is not on equal footing with physics. I do
>> not know of any theory of evolution that can be written down and what is
>> written down makes predications which can be verified in the future. In
>> physics what is written down is in mathematical form. I seriously doubt that
>> such a theory can ever be found. I really do not believe that evolutionary
>> theory can ever be falsified. Phenomenology is the term we use for ideas in
>> physics that do not qualify as theories. I do agree with you that most
>> scientists in the hard sciences do consider evolutionary theory a
>> respectable theory. But my criteria of what constitutes science is based on
>> physics as the prototype of science.
>>
>> Moorad
>
> You seem to be implying that there is a hierarchy of respectability among
>sciences, with physics at the apex, and dubious disciplines like evolutionary
>biology or palaeontology lower down. The assumption of this is that there is
>only one scientific method of which physics is epitome. Other disciplines are
>judged by how closely the conform to the physics template. Hence your statement
>that "evolutionary theory is not on equal footing with physics." Shades of the
>old adage "physics is science, the rest is stamp collecting"! These areguments
>cut both ways. As a geologist I could say that physics is not on the same
>footing as geology, because it is unable to answer the type of questions that I
>can routinely answer from the geological record. However, utterances of this
>type are unfair and unhelpful in the end
>
>I would argue that there are many different types of science - theoretical
>(mathematics) experimental (physics/chemistry), observational
>(astronomy/ecology) historical (geology, archaeology), human (sociology,
>anthropology). These divisions are somewhat arbitrary, but show, believe, that
>it is dangerous to too strictly use methodological criteria from one discipline
>to judge another.
>
>
>
>In Christ
>
>Jonathan Clarke
Dear Jonathan,
I do not claim that there is a hierarchy of respectability among the
sciences. But in the order of knowledge some are constitutive to others.
Modern science, experimental/theoretical, was developed by
physicists--mainly Christians. That physics is the prototype of science is
admitted by most scientists. The subject matter of physics is matter/energy
which underlies the whole of physical reality. I am the first to agree that
all the known disciples must be integrated to give rise to an understanding
of the totality of the human experience. I do not believe in any form of
nihilism which would eliminate existing knowledge--do not believe in any
isms. But in the order of knowledge physics does play a fundamental role in
understanding the physical universe. Disciplines are determined by their
subject matter and clearly the subject matter of geology is not that of the
physics. A physicist can practice his/her discipline without any knowledge
of geology; however, the converse is not true. The question of "what
constitutes science" is actually one outside of science and gets us into the
area of the philosophy of science.
In the love of Christ,
Moorad