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To: Dark Knight
Study more epistemology and then maybe some psychology

I was actually requesting some enlightenment from you on the meaning of your posting: the 'directly' was implied by the syntax of your sentence, and I was asking for clarification. Your original post:

I love the term supernatural. If it is a phenomenon that occurs and is inexplicable, by current standards, it is still a phenomenon. OTOH, if it is not observable, by current standards, it is not a phenomenon. It is not a very useful term. But folks sure bandy it about pretty loosely.

Let me set out my attempt to parse your sense here--which may well be wrong, which is why I asked for you to untangle it for me:

1. The term 'supernatural' is too ambiguous to be useful. To illustrate:

2. If event 'x' is a 'phenomenon' (an object of perception) but the [cause or nature] of 'x' cannot be explained by current knowledge, it is assigned the term 'supernatural.'

3. On the other hand, if 'x' occurs but is not 'observable' by currently available means of observation, then is not a 'phenomenon' (an object of perception).

Statement 3 is a meaningless tautology--which I assumed was not your intention. And it also implies the absurdity of 'unobservable phenomena,' which is why the phrase was set out in single quote marks.

With respect, you have misread my request for clarification, and I would still be interested to grasp your sense--unless you have determined that I am too 'sophmoric' for your instruction here.

The next step would be to say we understand everything using scientific scrutiny.

The closest to that claim might be a belief(!) that all knowledge is obtainable exclusively by science-- or perhaps only the findings of science qualify, by definition, as knowledge. Neither of these is among my own beliefs.

Is that the road you want to go down on? Do you like quantuum mechanics as a total solution forever?

I don't agree with your premise here; but in any event, if one choose to seek knowledge, one cannot prejudge what one finds. And I do not see how we can choose to only 'know' that which we find agreeable

89 posted on 09/23/2005 11:34:31 AM PDT by SeaLion ("Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man" -- Thomas Paine)
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To: SeaLion

The supernatural moves objects with ESP; the natural uses UPS.


128 posted on 09/23/2005 2:39:49 PM PDT by Doctor Stochastic (Vegetabilisch = chaotisch ist der Charakter der Modernen. - Friedrich Schlegel)
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To: SeaLion

You failed again to deal with your original mistake. You purposefully added "directly" to my post. It was not implied, except by you. It is your bias.

It is not a matter of clarification, it was a matter of obfuscation and misdirection.

Why don't I ask you what you think is supernatural instead of having you "parse" my words?

DK


140 posted on 09/23/2005 4:15:13 PM PDT by Dark Knight
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