epistemology, science, kinds of knowledge, methodology
It is common to read statements like this: “For the vast majority of biologists, the debate over whether evolution occurs took place in the 19th century and has long been settled — evolution won.” (1) The problem with this statement is that it was not a scientific position that won but a philosophical and political […]
Methodological naturalism is considered a strategy for conducting natural science, in which naturalism is temporarily assumed but not affirmed as a metaphysical reality. But for those who reject metaphysical naturalism, it is unacceptable to assume a falsehood for any purpose, except to prove that it leads to absurdity. For example, it would be nonsense for
I’ve written about terminology and used new terms before, for example, Movement and dimensions. I want to take another look at coining new terms needed for studying movement and the symmetry of space and time. In what follows, the terms pace, lenticity and relentation have new senses. Consider these parallel terms, defined with respect to
Controversies are a staple of today’s world, whether on the news media or the minds of people dealing with changes and counter-changes, or charges and counter-charges. In most cases reporting of controversies is very poor. Partisans have a difficult time even understanding their opponents and make points that are often irrelevant. What follows are some
I’ll be a speaker this weekend at the Genesis Seminar in Bridgeville, Pa (near Pittsburgh). The keynote speaker is Dr. Andrew Steinmann of Concordia University, Chicago. The title of my presentation is History and Philosophy of the Science of Origins, in which I will try to organize a diversity of material in history, philosophy, science,
The Lorentz transformation for velocities in all directions is known from the special relativity theory. This may be generalized to lenticities in all directions. Begin with the definition of the vector β from a previous post: β = v/c = k/v if |v| < |c|, with velocity v and speed of light c, v/k =
This is a revision to the derivation of the superluminal Lorentz transformation, as presented previously such as here. The problem with the previous derivation is that it did not distinguish between speed and pace, velocity and lenticity. Consider Case 2 again. This case begins with: r´ = r – tc²/v or t´ = t – r/v.
Movement in its simplest form is a trip from A to B. There are two ways one can look at such a movement: (1) as the line segment from A to B, or (2) as the angle between the lines from A to a reference point and A to B. Each of these may be
John P. McCaskey’s Key to Induction shows what scientific induction is all about: “[Scientists] want to know not only what is generally true but what is universally so, what is true without any possible exception. Below are three cases in which scientists were able to begin with general statements and progress to exceptionless universal ones.
The dimensions of an object are measured by movements, whether by moving a measuring device or moving one’s eyes while a measuring device stays in the same position. Movements themselves are measured by comparing them with standard movements, such as a movement with constant velocity. A movement compared with a standard linear movement generates a
