Re: [asa] The empirical basis of knowledge

Glenn Morton wrote:
> I will challenge people
> over the next 24 hours to name one thing which they KNOW to be true which
> does not have an empirical basis. Example.
>
>
> So, floor is open to challenges of this kind. I claimed that empirical data
> is all we have upon which to know things. Now is your chance to disprove
> that statement. And if you cant, then this will demonstrate the need for
> Biblical empirical verification.
>
> glenn
>
Okay, Glenn How about this one: "The only real knowledge we can have
must come from empirical evidence." Actually, while I may be inclined
to agree in some ways with that statement, I am not the one who made
it. You did. So your claim to know this is an answer to your own
challenge. There is no empirical evidence you can present to address
this since it is the necessity empirical evidence itself that is in
question --- UNLESS you insist that a lack of a non-philosophical
counter example counts as a kind of "empirical" evidence. But if you
are standing on a mere failure of your opponents to produce a
counter-example, that seems weak at best. And yet you seem to be
claiming quite strongly to know this. What is your empirical basis
for this knowledge claim?

And I am still interested in your own take, not only on floating
axe-heads but the sun standing still in the sky & such things. Those
are straight-forward claims in Scripture the latter of which is
physically fantastical -- and would seem to have no empirical basis
except for our faith in the Scriptural testimony by itself. Since I
have only had time to read a small fraction of your lengthy posts, I
apologize if you've already thoroughly hashed this elsewhere.

 I am not just being rhetorical in all this -- I really want to know.
Either I need to be desperately praying -- "God, I believe; help thou
my unbelief", or I need to pray: "God, thank you for the human faculty
of reason -- help me to use it to your glory." (or most likely I need
to pray both prayers.)

--Merv

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Received on Mon Mar 19 12:19:58 2007