[asa] Richard Lewontin quote on Naturalism

Hi ASAophiles -

Some of you may like to collect pithy quotes and sayings, so here is my
choice one for cleearly showing the soul driving force behind those who
cling to Metaphysical Naturalism, AKA Materialism, AKA Scientific Atheism.

 QUOTE from Richard Lewontin, Evolutionary Geneticist at Harvard U.

"Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense
is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the
supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity
of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its
extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the
scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a
prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. 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,
no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the
uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a
Divine Foot in the door." (Lewontin R., "Billions and Billions of Demons,"
Review of "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark," by
Carl Sagan.
-----------------------

What's your favorite quote?

Larry Johnston

"There is sufficient light for those who desire
to see, and there is sufficient darkness for those
of a contrary disposition."
    
     -Blaise Pascal, Pensees 149 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==========================================================
Lawrence H. Johnston home: 917 E. 8th st.
professor of physics, emeritus Moscow, Id 83843
University of Idaho (208) 882-2765
Fellow of the American Physical Society
http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~johnston/=================

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Received on Fri Jan 12 11:52:33 2007