Hi

On Wed, 20 Feb 2002, Louis_Schmier wrote:

> On Wed, 20 Feb 2002, jim clark wrote:
> > 
> > No, dudes like Einstein do not believe in a personal god.  
> > Einstein did not, and 80% (or so) of high-status scientists do
> > not.  
> 
> First, the fact that whatever 80% of High-status scientists--whatever
> that means--believe or don't believe doesn't exactly mean anything.  

First, I am not the one who cited Einstein's belief in god, which
was incorrect.  Second, it means that surveys of scientists with
some indicator of special respect among their peers tend to be
agnostic or atheistic.  Why that "doesn't exactly mean
anything" is not obvious to me.

> 
> A better question would be why more religious types don't
> > follow the excellent example of Einstein and other highly
> > intelligent, scientifically-minded people.
> 
> Not exactly respectful or objective.  So, scientifically-minded people
> shouldn't believe in a personal god?  I think Hume and Popper would take
> you on with this one.

There is no "should" or "shouldn't" in my statement.  I was
stating an observed negative relationship between being a
practitioner of science and being religious, and then simply
wondering why a group of people who hold great respect for
eminent scientists (e.g., Einstein, Darwin, ...) would not follow
their lead in this respect as well.  As to Hume and Popper, I
cannot say for sure, but suspect that if one looks at eminent
philosophers one also might find a high degree of disbelief
... Bertrand Russell comes readily to mind, of course.

Best wishes
Jim

============================================================================
James M. Clark                          (204) 786-9757
Department of Psychology                (204) 774-4134 Fax
University of Winnipeg                  4L05D
Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3B 2E9             [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CANADA                                  http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark
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