More UNITED than we realize!

role for scepticism

How do you draw the line?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Griffith on August 11, 2010 at 6:29am

This must be the Susan further up in the discussion. Sorry for not noticing you'd already mentioned her, BillJV!

Here's why I think this particular discussion matters. In Britain a fairly well-known psychologist called Susan Blackmore [she's presented a couple of TV series about how the brain works] explained in an article I read about a week ago how [she now believes] belief in the paranormal/magic/supernatural misled her in her early research career.

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Permalink Reply by Olivier Renard on August 26, 2010 at 8:45am

Septicism is not opposed to faith. You can have faith in the goal or into the truth you try to reach. In each move a pragmatic and rational method of investigation ask you for septicism. every step must be provide and
demonstrated until the truth or reality you are looking for doesn't depend on your own will and faith.

A pure scientific method that can be reverse in itself by more deep pragmatical and scientific methods. The case of Heisenberg incertitude becomes then clear : In this type of pragmatical experiment, the result of the experiment finaly depends on the faith you have in it more than on the rational methods and equations that stays true whatever you believe or not.

If the result of the experiment is 100 % certain. Then septicism was the first look before to try. And it was necessary. If the result of the experiment is 50 % true and then 50 % false as probable, then septicism isn't needed while it stop the experiment and don't gives any result. This time, the result depends on the faith you have in it.

It is two different method and pragmatical ways ! One needs septicism and experiment with the operator inside. The second needs less septicism, more faith and the operator implied, inside.

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Permalink Reply by Jaefar S.A.B.N.W. on September 15, 2010 at 12:12am

Even the rationist must have belief in others for their science and history. Very little of this can they personally reanalyze. Faith is the reaction to almost all of the rest. Our use of language requires belief in things we don't have time to investigate. As far as metaphysical claims, we should only take them from people and sources that are reliable with what we have knowledge of.