tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225373.post1090963040055760119..comments2024-02-29T03:34:23.190-05:00Comments on Who Were the Sea Peoples?: Evidencegcallahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10065877215969589482noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225373.post-20286461969202761502011-04-13T14:15:28.305-04:002011-04-13T14:15:28.305-04:00I readily admit that "science" is a cont...I readily admit that "science" is a contested word. Would this be more agreeable: "The sort of evidence that history demands is different than that of the experimental, physical sciences"?gcallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065877215969589482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225373.post-2742669143972970952011-04-13T14:12:05.158-04:002011-04-13T14:12:05.158-04:00Since when has science been exclusively about expe...Since when has science been exclusively about experiment?<br /><br />Science is about empiricism, not experimentalism, and history provides much of the empirical input of economic science.<br /><br />And since when is "science" of necessity the same as "quantitative" or "universal laws"?dkuehnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10136690886858186981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225373.post-86883365392796416432011-04-13T14:02:49.037-04:002011-04-13T14:02:49.037-04:00Dan, think of this: history "eludes" sci...Dan, think of this: history "eludes" scientific evidence: there are no repeatable experiments, the facts it discovers are rarely quantitative in any important sense, it discovers no universal laws, and so on. Yet there is plenty of good evidence for the findings of historians, but it's historical evidence, not scientific evidence. Different modes of thought, different kinds of evidence.gcallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065877215969589482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225373.post-4715004771707662982011-04-13T14:00:28.625-04:002011-04-13T14:00:28.625-04:00Bob, the sort of person who, for instance, declare...Bob, the sort of person who, for instance, declares "consciousness is an illusion!" and who declares love is just an evolutionary trick will not be convinced by anything. But for more thoughtful participants in the discussion, e.g. commenter number two here, it may prove a useful way to look at things.gcallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065877215969589482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225373.post-2951819747889493862011-04-13T13:58:04.531-04:002011-04-13T13:58:04.531-04:00"I don't particularly care about "sc..."I don't particularly care about "scientific evidence", although I'm not quite sure why God should be allowed to elude it"<br /><br />Well, if one looks constantly on the ground and fails to see the sky, that is no evidence that the sky doesn't exist! Similarly, science deliberately restricts itself to looking at the material world. (Which I think is fine, and is, in fact, its job!) But then of course all it will ever see is material reality.gcallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10065877215969589482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225373.post-37418474005036043852011-04-13T13:50:47.853-04:002011-04-13T13:50:47.853-04:00I was not among those who dismissed it because it ...I was not among those who dismissed it because it was testimony - indeed, I pointed out that that's the only sort of evidence you can have of a relationship.<br /><br />But I would caution that we need to be realistic about where that really gets us. A three year old can provide testimony about her relationship with an imaginary friend. That testimony is meaningful for some things - certainly it's meaningful to get an understanding of why Bob believes what he believes. But even leaving this issue you raise of science entirely aside (I don't particularly care about "scientific evidence", although I'm not quite sure why God should be allowed to elude it), that doesn't make it evidence for anything other than Bob's own perceptions and experiences.<br /><br />This is not a slight on Bob, it's simply a reality. This is all testimony can ever provide, and some people may personally find that persuasive or inspiring.dkuehnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10136690886858186981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7225373.post-35506862305249996362011-04-13T13:49:17.422-04:002011-04-13T13:49:17.422-04:00I appreciate the point, Gene, but I think you are ...I appreciate the point, Gene, but I think you are just playing into their hands. "A ha! They admit belief in God is just about feelings. Total defeat!"Bob Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001108408649311528noreply@blogger.com