Greetings, Ron -- > When you boil it down there is only a relative certainty about any > observable phenomena. Science and religion make attempts at > understanding reality. They both play the same role. > Simplifying and projecting to grasp and relate, this is what we do.
Amen, Ron! Steve should post this on his refrigerator. We live in a differentiated world where truth, morality, values, reason, and subjectivity are relative. That makes us free to draw our own conclusions from the values we cherish. It is unfortunate that Pirsig's equation Quality=Morality has fostered the notion that the universe is totally moral. Morality is an invention of man: what is good or bad in this amoral world is defined in terms of what is good or bad for man. That makes man's reality anthropocentric, and each individual an autonomous agent of value. Empirical "proof" for the truth of a belief, fact, or principle of existence consists of three kinds of validation: objective evidence, establishing the consistency and predictability of the evidence, and universal consensus based on repeated testing of the data by others. This is the methodology of Science. It assures that scientific pronouncements are consistent with the empirical paradigm of objectivism. While objective knowledge is important in standardizing the parameters of the physical world for utilitarian purposes, it does NOT establish absolute verification of Truth. It is proper to say that our belief in scientific precepts is founded on reason, whereas religious or mystical beliefs may rely on intuitive insight or logical abstraction. But because the physical world is itself relative, any truth we derive from it must also be relative. Therefore, belief in scientific evidence, philosophical theory, or religious dogma is always "faith-based". Or, to put it another way, without faith we can have no beliefs. Essentially yours, Ham Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
