Replies

"The separation of science from philosophy was an academic separation,..."

You must be referring to the exclusionary effect the scientific method has on rubbish.

"...but it mirrors a conceptual separation which I’ve been trying to explain. I reject the notion that you don’t understand the difference between general reasoning and particular facts. As pointed out earlier, it’s like the difference between mathematical statements using the variable x and mathematical statements of particular values for x.

Sicence contains not only the methods, but also the results of having applied the methods.

"This is a bit silly, picking apart a perfectly good metaphor."

The metaphor you presented was not an accurate representation of reality, as I pointed out. Science contains not only the methods, but also the results of having applied the methods.

"A=A only validates its own particular reasoning. What I was trying to explain is that it does not validate reason in the abstract."

It is the identity staement and it applies to all things, including sentient, rational beings and reason. It means a thing is what it is and not something else, regarless of what anyone might claim contrary to scientific evidence.

"If you contemplate Descartes’ cogito proposition, you’ll see how faith is the groundwork for reason."

What by magic? Faith is simply a belief in something that has been said, written, or imagined, regardless of any particular justification.

"And the claim that the law of conservation of energy extends infinitely into the past has yet to be demonstrated."

The evidence that the law does and is in fact independent of time and any other dimension is voluminous. As I previously pointed out, if you wish to claim the law is invalid and only holds in special cases, then you must provide evidence for your claim. I also pointed out that the BB is not in any way evidence for your claim, because science knows and understands the BB as an energy transformation, not the creation of energy out of nothing.