Physics is the prototype of all sciences. I do not say that everyone who
knows what science is will say that. Historical sciences are not like
physics, why then qualify it with the word historical? Any person who wants
to treat his/her subject matter of study quantitatively and with rigor can
learn a lot from the methodology followed in physics and they do! I do not
reduce everything to physics. I am a Christian and realize there is more to
reality than matter. That is why it would be silly to attempt to deduce
political norms, etc. to physics (materialism). I agree with your statement
that man must analyze reality and thus introduce different disciples but
later one must integrate all that knowledge to truly understand nature and
man. There are, for instance, different levels of description of man that
include, chemistry, biology, physics, theology, psychology, sociology, etc.
One disciple cannot claim to explain man. It is clear that history handles
its data in a different ways than physics handles its data. Establishing
facts are done differently in those fields; of course, the human brain works
equally in all these areas of endeavor. There is a difference between doing
biology and discussing about biology. The former is the technical aspect
while the latter is the study of the presuppositions made in biology and how
they relate to other disciples. We can all discuss the philosophy of biology
without being practicing biologists. I have enjoyed this exchange and hope
you have learned as much as I have. Moorad
-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan Clarke <jdac@alphalink.com.au>
Cc: asa@calvin.edu <asa@calvin.edu>
Date: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 8:26 AM
Subject: Re: preposterous
>
>
>Moorad Alexanian wrote:
>
>> What I wrote and what you say I said are totally different. That is the
type
>> of rigorous thinking that is lacking in the speculative areas that deal
with
>> questions of origins. You "summarize" what I said with the phrase "How
many
>> times do you need to be told that there is more to science than physics?"
>> Please explain to me, how does that logically follows from what I said?
>
>My statement was based several conversations we have had in the past when
you
>have expressed statements to the effect that physics was superior to
historical
>studies. How does this lack in rigour? Your most recent statement
supports
>this. You certainly said "I judge the work in that area (ie evolutionary
>biology and historical geology) and compare it with the rigor that is
needed to
>do good physics and realize that most, if not all, is very speculative and
may
>border on bad science." Therefore good physics is better than most or all
>evolutionary biology.
>
>> Chemistry, biology, microbiology, etc. are sciences and I can assure you
>> that every person that practices such disciples wants to do his/her
science
>> they way physicist do theirs!!
>
>Every person? I don't know any biologist (or geologist) who wants to
emulate
>physicists. There may be some who might suffer from physics envy, but that
is
>their problem.
>
>> In fact, some will even say that those disciplines can be eventually
reduced
>> to physics.
>
>Some may say this, but they are guilty of the most naive reductionism. In
what
>way can animal behavior be reduced to physics? In what way can a sequence
of
>historically contingent events in a sedimentary basin be predicted from
>physics? In what way can physics allow us to determine the political norms
of a
>given society? Biology, geology, and the social sciences wrestle with
questions
>that physics cannot even begin to to answer.
>
>What we need to recognise is that there is a taxonomy of disciplines we
call
>sciences. These share certain common characteristics, which is why we call
them
>sciences. These include being observation based, rational, attempts at
>determining relationships in the material world. Common tools include
>deduction, induction, falsifiability, repeatability, prediction, and
explanatory
>power. Within this larger taxonomic grouping there are differences in
>methodology based on the object of study. So we have the theoretical,
>experiment, observational, historical, and behavioural sciences. It is
>pointless it fault the methodology of one because it does not conform to
the
>methodology of the other. The theoretical rationalism and even
instrumentalism
>of some theoretical physics works well in that field but is perhaps
irrelevant
>to biology. the historical principles of Steno are essential to
archaeology and
>geology but completely irrelevant to sociology or quantum theory.
>
>> Did O.J. killed Nicole and her friend? Forensics science may say yes,
but the
>> answer may be no.
>> How many shooters killed president Kennedy? So we really know!! Those
are
>> the sort of questions asked in historical sciences. Are the answers to
these
>> questions conclusive? You tell me.
>
>Of course there are limits what we can know about the past. But the fact
we do
>not know everything does not mean we therefore know nothing. We may not
(thanks
>the obfuscation of the legal profession combined with insufficient data)
know
>who killed Nicole and friend , but I presume that even you do not dispute
that
>the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, that Napoleon lost at Waterloo or
Jerusalem
>was destroyed in AD70. How is this dissimilar to the situation in the
physical
>sciences. Because there is no TOE (and perhaps will never be a TOE),
because of
>quantum uncertainty, does this mean that it is impossible to say anything
about
>physical interaction?
>
>I ask again: How much work in historical geology (or evolutionary biology)
have
>you actually done and how much have you reviewed for you to make this
judgment?
>Have you actually done the morphological analysis of fossils through a
>stratigraphic section? Have you looked at gene distribution and
transmission
>in isolated populations? Have you actually attempted to work out the
geological
>history of an area or even a single depositional unit? How wide a range of
the
>literature in these fields have you read? I don't mean popularisations, I
mean
>actual papers. Unless you have done this sort of work you have no basis
for
>your sweeping generalisations.
>
>Jon
>
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