Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Quote of the Day

Barry Arrington
August 27, 2008
Intelligent Design
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“The beliefs which we have the most warrant for, have no safeguard to rest on, but a standing invitation to the whole world to prove them unfounded.”

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (New York: Burt, n.d.), pp. 38-39.

Comments
bFast: you wrote: "I contend that methodological naturalism itself is absolutely unfalsifiable". However I thought to understand that the expression "(un)falsifiable" applied solely to theories and hypotheses. Methodological Naturalism is, as I understand it, a methodology. In what way could a methodology (of whatever kind) be falsifiable?Antwerpenaar
August 31, 2008
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russ, I would contend that ID is also not falsifiable, and for the very same reasons. Both methodological naturalism and ID should, in my opinion, be relegated to the philosophy department. That said, however, the ID paradyme produces very falsifiable theories, such as IC, CSI, etc. These theories should be pursued by the scientific community with all of the gusto that the theory of natural selection is pursued -- especially as these theories seriously challenge (falsify) the theory of natural selection. However, these theories, falsifiable though they are, are rejected as "non-science" because the unfalsifiable philosophy of methodological naturalism requires their expulsion.bFast
August 28, 2008
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However, I contend that methodological naturalism itself is absolutely unfalsifiable. As such, it doesn’t even have the protection of a genuine invitation to the world that it be proved wrong.
Whatever happened to Darwinists' suggestions that ID be relegated to philosophy departments? Is that "helpful" suggestion still being offered?
russ
August 28, 2008
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I think that the single belief that the scientific community places the most warrant on is the belief in methodological naturalism. However, I contend that methodological naturalism itself is absolutely unfalsifiable. As such, it doesn't even have the protection of a genuine invitation to the world that it be proved wrong.bFast
August 27, 2008
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