04-28-2006, 03:22 PM
Quote:In many cases you might be right in asking "what is right and what is wrong". A good and wise philosophical question. But don't stop in looking for an answer or worse propose a non-answer and simply say that is there are no such things as "right" and "wrong". THAT is bad philosophy. It gets you no where and you are simply "sticking your head in a hole", "turning the lights off". Of course you may do as you wish.
Not all claims are on an equal level. Some are good and useful and get you somewhere, others are just bla bla. There ARE some cases were an answer can be given to the question as whether something is right or wrong. Energy may be transfered in many ways, but telepathy is a bogus idea. Life is a complex and in many ways mysterious phenomena, but reincarnation is a bogus idea. Religion is a very human necessity but to believe the world is 6000 years old and was simply made to look as if it were billions is not even right or wrong, it is so philosophically dishonest to even be considered.
To summarize: some claims can be interesting and provocative and may benefit from many doubts. Other claims are simply wrong. Others yet are simply dishonest. I am not saying that the person making the claim is dishonest like Al Capone, but that the claim doesn't allow an open discussion. A claim such as "the world just looks to be billions of year old" might be tooted by an honest and sincere person, but his claim is intellectually a rip off. It steals me the possibility of making any form of argument. The same is true of claims that hide behind the notion that "science does not explain everything". Science does NOT explain everything! Indeed scientists never say thay! Indeed those that say science "wants to explain everything" are those that have no scientific background.
To conclude my position: Some strange claim can be unexplained but still be CONSISTENT with what science knows with a high degree of certainty. Such a claim would not be as great problem but as a challange and it would be interesting to study. Other strange claims are INCONSISTENT with what little we know. Here is where I can REASONABLY state that that strange idea is wrong! I put the word "reasonably" in CAPITAL LETTERS because the word plays a central role. If you question the usefulness or soundness of the notion of "reasonable", be careful how you do it. You might be risking a fall into the categories of "uselessness" and "dishonesty".
It doesn't mean I'm blind ... I don't want to get too philosophical, I admit I haven't got the abilities to do so. I can say from my part that people can blindy follow science. I'm studying science, believe it or not. Physics, chemical stuff, mathematics, biology, whatever. None of those things can explain why people can 'see' more that others. Whether they're there or not, doesn't matter. As I said before, I'm talking about personal experience. Yes I do get a lot of critics too about the things I tell other people (yet I don't tell everything, just to seem not a complete idiot (not yet)). But as you call me, or someone who does believe those things, blind, I can call you 'non-believers' people who aren't open-minded.
Quote:How was he making money? The horoscope he provided was free. This was an experiment specifically designed to demonstrate that astrology is rubbish and to embarrass those who think otherwise. He succeeded IMO. If you believe otherwise perhaps you could answer one of my questions.
Sorry, I've read over the word 'experiment'. My mistake. But who can say with clear evidence there are no such things and it's all rubbish ? Unless they can absolutely proof the opposite, you cannot say there is no such thing. Same thing with "aliens" or "life outside this planet". The majority of the people don't believe there's life outside of this planet and the earth is the only populated planet. Yet nothing or no one has ever proved that to be correct. You can't say it isn't so as no one got any proof. I know, you can turn the sentence to the fact that no one has proved there is life outside this planet, but basically it's the same. Same thing for astrology. There are people who believe, people that endure something. People who aren't aware don't believe.
I suggest we just let it go (second try). It's quite an endless discussion, you're contra and I'm pro. Apparently we're too stubborn to admit towards each other :roll: :wink:
a.k.a. Daan Vanhamme
