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Off Topic / Two arguments that give the creationists the upper hand.
« on: February 13, 2008, 12:37:00 AM »
This is quite a contentious topic, and there's been some good discussion here... I've enjoyed reading it and I feel like I know some of the DB forum posters a lot better now . To throw in my own two-cents-worth:
I consider myself a scientist, and it seems to me that the scientific method is the most productive and effective paradigm to use in interacting with the universe. I also think that the act of "believing", of maintaining a conviction despite the lack of any observations supporting it and despite the presence of observations that would tend to counter it, is highly dangerous. However, there can be great value in things that are outside of the realm of science, like myths, stories, and symbols. Science has many uses, but when you're trying to figure out what you need in your life to make you happy or what movie to see tonight, science has very little to offer. As such, when the bible has stories about virgin births or resurrections, it doesn't mean you should dismiss them as scientifically innaccurate and therefore false, but instead look at them as symbols that have helped to shape our culture and our identities, and can serve as common reference-points that allow us to relate to one another more effectively. In a way, our lives as we subjectively experience them can be reduced to stories, and so it makes sense that all kinds of stories help to shape our perceptions.
Take, for example EricL's post about the DarwinBots bar (which I love btw). It's difficult to quantify or measure the utility of this piece, and the characters of the bartender, the old sage, and the escaped mental patient are certainly symbolic rather than literal, but reading it has without a doubt enriched my experience here.
If only fewer people would try to take our myths so literally...
And of course, these views would be completely out of place in a scientific discussion .
I consider myself a scientist, and it seems to me that the scientific method is the most productive and effective paradigm to use in interacting with the universe. I also think that the act of "believing", of maintaining a conviction despite the lack of any observations supporting it and despite the presence of observations that would tend to counter it, is highly dangerous. However, there can be great value in things that are outside of the realm of science, like myths, stories, and symbols. Science has many uses, but when you're trying to figure out what you need in your life to make you happy or what movie to see tonight, science has very little to offer. As such, when the bible has stories about virgin births or resurrections, it doesn't mean you should dismiss them as scientifically innaccurate and therefore false, but instead look at them as symbols that have helped to shape our culture and our identities, and can serve as common reference-points that allow us to relate to one another more effectively. In a way, our lives as we subjectively experience them can be reduced to stories, and so it makes sense that all kinds of stories help to shape our perceptions.
Take, for example EricL's post about the DarwinBots bar (which I love btw). It's difficult to quantify or measure the utility of this piece, and the characters of the bartender, the old sage, and the escaped mental patient are certainly symbolic rather than literal, but reading it has without a doubt enriched my experience here.
If only fewer people would try to take our myths so literally...
And of course, these views would be completely out of place in a scientific discussion .