I bolded that phrase just to mark it off as the phrase I was interested in. I am sorry I didn't indicate that the emphasis was mine. I wasn't really trying to emphasize it. I wanted to include the whole quote for context and then ask about the part in bold. Sorry for the confusion.
I was wondering if there are any theoretical limits to reasoning based on empirical evidence as a guide for life (I already know that reason is flexible enough to go anywhere, given matching assumptions and divorced from empirical evidence). Obviously, none of us are ever completely guided by our adopted life principles. The question is if that is only due to our limitations or if it is sometimes due to the limitations of our chosen principles. It would seem to me that we are limited (and I don't necessarily mean it in a bad way), in an empirical understanding of human behavior to nature, nurture and the interaction between them. We can talk about our inherent nature, external forces acting upon it and the interaction between the two. It seems that when we say that "science and reason should be core to all our beliefs (and ideally our behaviors)", we are saying that people can be criticized for choosing to do otherwise. But freedom of choice is not something for which we have any empirical evidence. So on what basis can we criticize an organism that does nothing but what its evolutionary history and environment have programmed it to do? Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Professor of Psychology John Brown University 2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (479) 524-7295 http://www.jbu.edu/academics/hss/faculty/rfroman.asp "Pete, it's a fool that looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart." - Ulysses Everett McGill -----Original Message----- From: Jim Clark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 4:59 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Re: It's what they believe Hi There was no bold in my original or Chris's reply. Perhaps some being is trying to tell us (me?) something about the limits of science and reason? I added the phrase primarily because we often in life act without thinking fully about the implications of our actions, and hence are very unlikely to ever be completely guided by reason or science. The same would be true, of course, of any basis for belief and action, whether religion, science, or whatever. Take care Jim James M. Clark Professor of Psychology 204-786-9757 204-774-4134 Fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> "Rick Froman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 06-Apr-07 4:45:26 PM >>> I am interested in knowing why Jim felt the need to include the phrase in bold in the sentence below. To what extent is that not possible? Dr. Rick Froman Associate Professor of Psychology John Brown University 2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (479) 524-7295 http://www.jbu.edu/academics/sbs/faculty/rfroman.asp Rick -----Original Message----- From: Jim Clark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 4:07 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Re: It's what they believe Hi James M. Clark When we teach students to think critically, to use science and reason to arrive at conclusions about the world, do we (or should we) be teaching them that there are certain domains (e.g., religion, morals, tradition, ...) to which these principles ought not to be applied? The answer would appear to be "yes" by people who adhere to something like Gould's separate magisteria or by people who say that science is irrelevant to questions about the existence of god and the like. The answer is "no" by definition to those of us who maintain that science and reason should be core to all our beliefs (and ideally our behaviors), to the extent that is possible. --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang= english --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang= english --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
