This posting has been nagging at me for a couple of days, since it could be
rephrased as "Experimental science is about answering the questions of what,
where, when and how. Theoretical science tries to address the question of
why." Of course theorists seek mechanisms rather than Deus ex Machina, but
still theory, like religion, seeks to understand why nature is the way it
is. Of course this runs the risk of assuming supernatural knowledge, which
is presumably why Newton said "Hypotheses non fingo", but humans seem to
have a need to understand the WHY and are not satisfied with simply a
detailed description.
So both theoretical science and religion try to address the question of why,
but in different ways. Which gets us back to the original question of
compatibility between science and religion!
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message -----
From: "Warren W. Aney" <a...@coho.net>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: sexta-feira, 21 de Maio de 2010 5:08
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Science and Religion Dogmatic conflict?
There's an old saying, and it's probably already been brought up, that
science is about answering the questions of what, where, when and how.
Religion tries to address the question of why.
Warren W. Aney
