by cofty 71 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
In a discussion about the best flavour of ice cream everybody's opinion is equally valid.
In a discussion about the shape of the earth or the origin of species everybody's opinion is equally irrelevant. Only objective facts and evidence matter.
Confusing these two categories is a common feature of conversations in this forum.
People deserve respect, errors do not.
I don't see how you can compare the shape of the earth to the origin of species. The shape of the earth is easily observable. The origin of species can only be known through circumstantial evidence.
Yes I think evolution is good and useful science. However I have a hard time calling it a "fact".
Just a simple question... if evolution is a "fact" why is it still studied? Hasn't the science already been completed?
Just a simple question... if evolution is a "fact" why is it still studied? Hasn't the science already been completed?
Here is a succinct answer from The National Academies of Science...
I don't see how you can compare the shape of the earth to the origin of species
They are equally certain. Feel free to continue that topic on any of the 37 threads of that series. This topic is more general.
People should not say "it is a fact that god created the universe". All they can say is "it is a fact that I choose to believe that god created the universe".
They conveniently miss off the "I choose to believe" part because it is so damning to their argument but it's often all their argument consists of.
They are equally certain. Feel free to continue that topic on any of the 37 threads of that series. This topic is more general.
Yes they are equally certain, but they are not equally knowable.
@ little_Socrates, you have chosen a good name, why not try the Socratic method?
The Socratic Learning Method (SLM) is a constructivist learning approach consisting of four key steps: eliciting relevant preconceptions, clarifying preconceptions, testing one’s own hypotheses or encountered propositions, and deciding whether to accept the hypotheses or propositions. The Socratic Learning Method is particularly useful when one has to evaluate a proposition contradictory to one originally held belief, or when one has to generate and evaluate one’s own hypothesis in the face of new information. (Source: Carnegie Mellon University)
Good point Simon, really what we often forget is that it doesn't really matter what we believe, all that actually matters is what is true.
The quote from A Few Good Men could be adapted to fit this:
"It doesn't matter what I believe. It only matters what I can prove! So please, don't tell me what I know, or don't know; I know the SCIENCE!"
Only objective facts and evidence matter. cofty
The flaw in your all of your arguments, cofty, is that you equate conclusions derived from evidence (for example, your idolized theory of evolution) with fact, confusing them.
