Greetings,
Platt. I fear you do not understand what you are talking about and therefore have come to some
fallacious conclusions about me. The problem is that you do not know what logic is. I hope you will
by the end of this posting.
PLATT:
"“You demonstrably can have a universe without a human being - check the
fossil record if you don’t believe me.”
. . . and then compared what you consider this indisputable truth to the
following quote from your hero:
“There is no logical impossibility in the view that the world was created five
minutes ago, complete with memories and records. That may seem an
improbable hypothesis, but it is not logically refutable.”
Seems your “empirical proof” of an independent reality is logically-challenged."
I REPLY:
You are conflating logic with empirical evidence. They are very different things.
'Demonstrably' in this context clearly means empirical evidence - i.e. 'go and check the fossil
record.' This is known variously as 'a posteriori,' or, 'empirical,' or, 'matters of fact.' In other
words, one uses one's senses to ascertain the veracity of a hypothesis. In still other words, the
scientific METHOD. This is not in the least concerned (at this level) with logic, as logic is 'a
priori' understanding, or, from Hume, concerned with 'relations of ideas.'
Now look at the second quote you provide. That there is no 'logical impossibility' means that it is
logically consistent to hold the view. WHETHER THIS CAN BE BACKED UP BY EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE IS
ANOTHER QUESTION ENTIRELY. It does not require empirical evidence to establish its veracity. Key
sentence coming up:
Russell is not denying the CONSISTENCY of the said view, he is merely denying the INFERENCE. I, on
the other hand, was denying the INFERENCE. If that didn't make sense to you, I implore you to look
up the terms, 'a priori' and, 'a posteriori.'
Now, answer the question. Which is the odd one out? a) 2+2=4. b) A bachelor is an unmarried man. c)
My cat is black.
If you can't do it, may I suggest any good introductory book to philosophy. It is hard to overstate
the importance of this distinction for anyone seeking to understand almost any philosophical
position.
And finally, for goodness sake, Platt, don't take me for a complete twat, I do have some idea of
what I'm on about and I promise that you will fail miserably if you try to put me off with utterly
unfounded insults and crass accusations like the one which prefaced your previous posting.
I'm off to bed. Goodnight.
Struan
------------------------------------------
Struan Hellier
< mailto:struan@clara.co.uk>
"All our best activities involve desires which are disciplined and
purified in the process."
(Iris Murdoch)
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