Steve wrote: "I am doing some research into methodological naturalism.
At the moment, I am attempting to identify reasons for its popularity. I
wondered what reasons list members could identify for its adoption;
either personally or in the literature."
My notes show that methodological naturalism was first expressed by
Epicurius as "in searching out nature, ascribe nothing to the gods." This
is a paraphrase from memory, BTW. It is cited by the writer Otto Strunk
in a fairly old book "On Atheism." Again, title from memory, it may be
simply "Atheism."
I seem to remember an even earlier reference to one of the Greek
philosophers circa 300 BC who suggested that the pursuit of understanding
nature ought properly to have two foundational precepts. The first was
"Consider ALL the evidence" and the second was much like that of
Epicurius above.
John Burgeson (Burgy)
http://www.burgy.50megs.com
(science/theology, quantum mechanics, baseball, ethics,
humor, cars, God's intervention into natural causation, etc.)
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