Standing To Reason - Keeping An Open Mind

[Ramshobraja]

Brilliant video. I love how narrow minded dogmatists tell scientists to be more open minded.

[camino1ca]

Good video.

[InteGrayting]

Keep your mind too open and your brain might fall out. Many people wtill cling to a faith that comes from a text that is suspect in every way. Again, and again study shows that there is nothing yet to verify anything written in the bible as true, yet people wtill believe. It is known that several stories from the bible were stolen from Sumerian texts such as Adam & Eve, and Noah just to name two. The biblical Jesus, and historical Jesus don't match up at all. Wake up people.

[sreinap]

Obviously Louis Pasteur was a Catholic (whose discoveries are made so much of in this video), which seems to make the whole argument invalid.

[JShankel]

In what way? Newton believed in alchemy. Just because an individual holds different kinds of views don't make all those views equally valid.

Tell me, where in the Bible does it suggest Pasteurizing our milk?

[Skymt]

Good point, JShankel! Most inventions comes from the inventor, and not something divine!

But your example is a bit off..

Newton predates the formalization of chemistry, so he didn't have much else to believe in, regarding the teachings of the elements.

But alchemy was not just a blind hunt for gold, they did discover a lot of chemical properties and reactions, and their records laid the foundation for modern chemistry...

(But I learned this from a docu I saw online, so dont blindly trust me!)

[UnBeguiled]

Nice video. We have the same world view, but many do not. For the sake of conversation:

Why do you think an evidence based system of understanding is superior?

[JShankel]

"Why do you think an evidence based system of understanding is superior?"

I hold it to be self-evident :)

Reality, by definition, is that which generates evidence. So, to understand reality one MUST be amenable to evidence.

The germ-theory of disease, as cited, is a great example. It's superior to the divine retribution theory not just because it's correct, but because it helps us combat disease effectively.

[UnBeguiled]

Yes, evidentialism is axiomatic for me as well. All living organisms must rely on it.

However, citing the success of germ theory is begging the question. You're basically saying "evidence shows that using evidence leads to understanding". You can't use science to prove science.

It's as nonsensical as saying "The bible is true because it says it's true".

[JShankel]

I don't think you can logically prove any system of understanding to that degree, because ultimately you must accept some standard of "proof," which I can just assert as being arbitrary.

My standard of "proof" for a system of understanding is based on the results the systems produce.

I'm open to suggestion as to a better standard.

[UnBeguiled]

Like I said, we have the same world view, I don't have a better way.

Imagine an organism that did not rely on sense data? We acquire and evaluate sense data, or evidence, and respond. It's what we are, that's all.

It is the nature of an electron to have a negative charge. Humans get by in the world based on evidence. It is the nature of all living things to do so.

[camino1ca]

That's incorrect. The bible is true because it says it is true cannot be verified by the bible, however in the other example the evidence of it's accuracy is evident, repeatable, independently confirmable, and consistent. The truth of it's accuracy is not a claim that the germ theory itself makes, as is the case with the bible, but rather based on results.

[KingRatXVI]

Junk

[Cafeeine]

Very well stated indeed.

[RaymondMorgenthau]

Very well stated. I especially enjoyed the Wall Street reference.