[Erax]

Ah yes, the famous Gould evasion of the issue, "non-overlapping magisteria" was how he put it I believe.

Yet there are many good objections to this view. For example, if the view of science and physicalism is correct, then humans, including their thoughts, opinions, beliefs, emotions etc. are either physical or supervenient on the physical, and this cannot help but overlap into the whys.

On the other hand, organized religion justifies its "whys" based on its "hows". How many people would be willing to accept the "whys" taught by religion if its "hows" were acknowledged to be wrong?

Taking knowledge about how our thought processes work (for example) and extrapolating that into an explanation for spirituality is still an extrapolation, which (as I said) is apt to fail. There are many people who will do it regardless, but I think it's ill-advised.

For the second part, that's the very reason why Christianity has taken such a beating in Western society. Their 'hows' have consistently been proven wrong, starting with Copernicus. They should drop them altogether and stick to the 'whys'. The Catholic Church, incidentally, tends to evade certain scientific questions with religious implications. For example, "Will sentient aliens have souls like we do ?" "Um, let's wait until we know if there are sentient aliens first." The anti-evolutionists, on the other hand, are just setting themselves up for a fall.

To sum it up: just because many people will get their science and religion mixed up doesn't mean that they should. And science is a poor teacher of moral values anyway.

Edit - this is from further back in the topic, but it merits an answer.

The problem is, Erax, and I'm not saying you do this, but some people won't allow you to tell them anything. Apparently, I have no right to tell my belief's to anyone. That doesn't explain how those same people feel free to tell people their belief that people don't have a right to tell people their beliefs. Have I confused anybody yet?

For the record Narf, I don't think you are 'imposing' your views on anyone. You definitely have them and you defend them whenever necessary, yet you do not criticize anyone who disagrees with you (and you keep your good humor too). I admire your behavior.

[ November 08, 2003, 13:29: Message edited by: Erax ]