On Wed, 4 Aug 1999, Jim Guinee wrote:
>
> > > "The pollen association and the similarities in the blood stains in the
> > > two cloths provide clear evidence that the shroud originated before the
> > > eighth century," Danin said.
>
> I'm curious what Danin's religious beliefs (if any) are. Can he be objective?
The National Post (Canada) version of this report states that Danin is
Jewish "and not religious". If there was any bias, I would expect it
would be in the direction of failing to support claims that would
gratify Christian belief. Yet he is quoted as saying "I am happy that
the Christians can enjoy my findings". But there's a larger issue
raised by Jim's question.
It's whether someone's work can be challenged or discredited on
because of the individual's personal beliefs or practices. One case
was the firing of an outstanding science writer by _Scientific
American_ because he was a creationist. Another is that of an eminent
neuroscientist who reported evidence of anatomical differences in the
brain between homosexuals and heterosexuals. His work was challenged
on the grounds that he was a declared homosexual, and therefore could
not be objective. But if we're going to accept that argument, surely
all work by heterosexual researchers on sex should be similarly
mistrusted for a pro-heterosexual bias. The only reasonable
conclusion, I think, is that research should be evaluated on its
merits without reference to the personal habits of the individuals
doing it. I hope this is a motherhood statement.
But the question of objectivity does apply to Dr. Danin's work in
another way. I would think that identifying particular plant species
from traces of ancient pollen would not be a particularly routine
task, and there might well be considerable subjectivity in the
identifications made. Whenever this is the case there is room for
one's preconceived ideas to exert a strong influence on the outcomes.
This is why we have double-blind experiments, even for research where
the tasks involve far less subjectivity than identifying traces of
ancient pollen. I wonder what steps Dr. Danin has taken to ensure the
reliability of the identifications he has made. Whether he is Jewish,
of course, has nothing to do with this question.
One final query: the Post item says there are blood stains on the
Shroud and that they "match" those on another artifact, the Sudarium
of Oviedo. The NY Times is more cautious, quoting Danin as saying that
"both the Sudarium and the shroud "appear" to carry type AB blood
stains. But the web site a TIPster referred us to (post and cite now
lost) reported no blood stains on the Shroud. So what's the real
story?
-Stephen
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
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