Nice to see O'Bama working on getting rid of midnight Bush rules

[--Pete]

Hi,

Just cherry picking:)

Science and empiricism are specifically constructed to be anti-dogmatic. Now, any given theory can become dogma, but the whole point of the scientific method, and of empirical focus, is to look most carefully at as much of reality as can be observed, and test each and every idea against the evidence, over and over again, never being fully satisfied by the existing answers.

True, in theory. But in practice, "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." (Max Planck, 1920)

In other words, the god of the gaps. Science advances, god retreats. New discovery? Better "rationalize" our philosophy to accomodate the new evidence. More new evidence?

Wish that that were true, then I'd have less trouble with religion than I do. But science advances and religion just gets more shrill in its demands that the faithful ignore the evidence and believe the dogma.

Do you not think people believed in a literal flood at the time the Bible was written?

Very likely, since the story's origin is from a region (Mesopotamia) where floods were not uncommon. The biblical flood is most likely a composite of actual floods and poetic exaggeration. Just like bears continue to grow around the campfire for years after they're killed, the flood deepened long after the waters retreated.:)

Explain then how the least religious societies in the world also number amongst the least violent, and vice versa.

Simple. Without religion, you can't really work up a good, blind, rage. Nor can you justify any and all actions. So you've got to play nice. :whistling:

Is that just a historical abberation? Are the Swedes hanging on to their orderly society by some unusual magic?

Yep, it is. All the violent Swedes left around 800 to 1100 CE to become the Russians, the Norman, the Valerian, etc. Those that stayed home were the nice ones, and like breeds like. "Think of it as evolution in action."

That wasn't Karl Marx. That was Jesse Ventura.

'Bout the same, except Jesse would win three falls out of three.

--Pete