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To: Goldhammer

scientific propositions can never be proven.

So it hasn't yet been proven that the earth revolves around the sun?

No, this has not been proven. That is to say, there are no arguments or observations that entail with logical necessity that the Heliocentric Theory is true.

Don't get me wrong, the evidence for the heliocentric theory is very, very, very strong, such that it is perverse to deny it confident, if formally tentative, assent. But a very, very, very strong case is not the same as a "proof". A proof is a demonstration that a proposition is not merely irrefutable as a practical matter, or on the basis of present knowledge, but rather that it must be true, regardless of any possible future discoveries.

NO scientific claim has this characteristic. ALL scientific claims are subject to revision, replacement or abandonment as may be required by future discoveries, or the creation of stronger theories. In this light, btw, it should be noted that the heliocentric theory when intially proposed was, in fact, much weaker both in evidentiary support and predictive power than the prevailing geocentric views, and that it was significantly modified subsequently (most notably in Kepler's substitution of elliptical orbits for circular ones).

I should note, just for the record, that there are still creationists who insist on Geocentrism. A quick search turned up the following web pages:

The Heliocentric Hoax

GALILEO'S HERESY (same site as the preceeding)

What is Geocentricity?

Association for Biblical Astronomy

The Scriptural Basis for a Geocentric Cosmology

The non-moving earth & anti-evolution web page...

122 posted on 03/27/2002 12:13:37 AM PST by Stultis
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