Bruno Marchal wrote:
On 29 Jun 2015, at 01:48, Bruce Kellett wrote:
This is merely an assertion, at best an argument from incredulity, it
is not a proof.
All "proof" about reality are argument from incredulity. We tend to
believe that the Earth is round, because the theory that the Earth is
flat has become incredible with the current data and current theories.
You make it clear that you do not understand what an argument from
incredulity is. Maybe this is just a language problem, since English is
not your first language. But the argument from incredulity says "I don't
believe that (or I find it incredible, unbelievable), therefore it is
false." That is not how scientific arguments proceed. Science proceeds
on the basis of evidence. A theory is refuted if it does not agree with
the evidence. What anyone believes about the theory is irrelevant --
credulity or incredulity are not appropriate terms.
A /reductio ad absurdum/ on the other hand, is the derivation of a
contradiction from a certain set of assumptions, showing that the
assumptions are mutually inconsistent -- you cannot maintain all of them
simultaneously. Again, nothing to do with anyone's beliefs, as in the
invalid argument from incredulity.
Bruce
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