5
   

Should "and" be "which" here?

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar, English As A Second Language, And Means And
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oristarA
 
Reply Thu 5 Nov, 2015 10:25 pm
Because it is that Stephen Jay Gould's principle of nonoverlapping magisteria considers the existence of God to be a scientific hypothesis like any other, not Richard Dawkins thinks so.

Context:

Dawkins is an outspoken atheist[66] and a supporter of various atheist, secular, and humanistic organisations.[13][67][68][69][70][71][72] Although he was confirmed into the Church of England at the age of thirteen, he started to lose his religious faith when he discovered Darwin.[73] He revealed that his understanding of evolution led him to atheism[74] and is puzzled by belief in God among individuals who are sophisticated in science.[75] He disagrees with Stephen Jay Gould's principle of nonoverlapping magisteria[76] and considers the existence of God to be a scientific hypothesis like any other.[9]:50

More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins#Advocacy_of_atheism
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Type: Question • Score: 5 • Views: 821 • Replies: 18
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View best answer, chosen by oristarA
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Fri 6 Nov, 2015 09:22 am
@oristarA,
Is this forgotten?
0 Replies
 
MontereyJack
 
  1  
Reply Fri 6 Nov, 2015 10:34 am
No to both.
0 Replies
 
MontereyJack
 
  1  
Reply Fri 6 Nov, 2015 10:34 am
No to both.
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Fri 6 Nov, 2015 10:59 am
@MontereyJack,
MontereyJack wrote:

No to both.


So you think that Dawkins considers the existence of God to be a scientific hypothesis like any other?
0 Replies
 
MontereyJack
 
  1  
Reply Fri 6 Nov, 2015 11:51 am
That is what your cite is saying
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Fri 6 Nov, 2015 12:05 pm
@MontereyJack,
MontereyJack wrote:

That is what your cite is saying


That is to say, you've never read Dawkins' book: The God Delusion. You said so only because the grammatical structure tells you so?
0 Replies
 
McTag
  Selected Answer
 
  2  
Reply Fri 6 Nov, 2015 04:42 pm
@oristarA,

I think so.

We know that Dawkins considers God to be imaginary.
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Fri 6 Nov, 2015 08:43 pm
@McTag,
Grammar and logic are twins, aren't they?
0 Replies
 
Tes yeux noirs
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 02:27 am
He disagrees with Stephen Jay Gould's principle of nonoverlapping magisteria and [he] considers the existence of God to be a scientific hypothesis like any other.
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 06:17 am
@Tes yeux noirs,
Tes yeux noirs wrote:

He disagrees with Stephen Jay Gould's principle of nonoverlapping magisteria and [he] considers the existence of God to be a scientific hypothesis like any other.


Thank you Tes.
But Dawkins came to prominence internationally for publishing The God Delusion, in which he unequivocally points out that God is merely a delusion, not a scientific hypothesis.
Tes yeux noirs
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 06:28 am
@oristarA,
Quote:
he unequivocally points out that God is merely a delusion, not a scientific hypothesis.

If that is so, then your quarrel is with the author of the Wikipedia article, which says that he believes God to be a scientific hypothesis like any other.
0 Replies
 
Tes yeux noirs
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 07:33 am
@oristarA,
Quote:
Dawkins came to prominence internationally for publishing The God Delusion, in which he unequivocally points out that God is merely a delusion, not a scientific hypothesis.

You should do two things:

1. Read Dawkins again

2. Attempt to understand what a hypothesis is.

A start on the second of these can be found in the writing of Dawkins himself, where he explains why he believes that the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis:

Quote:
In my 2007 book God: The Failed Hypothesis; How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist, I applied the scientific process of hypothesis testing to the question of God. The common objection I heard was that the existence of God is not a scientific hypothesis. Let me explain why I say it is.

The scientific method is not limited to what professional scientists do but can be applied to any question that relates to observations. The brain does not have the capacity to save the time, direction, and energy of each photon that hits the eyes. Instead it operates on a simplified picture of objects, be they rocks, trees, or people, assigning them general properties that do not encompass every detail.

That is, we make models. Science merely rationalizes the procedure, communicating by precise speech and writing among individuals who then attempt to reach an agreement on what they all have seen and how best to represent their collective observations. What are called scientific theories are just models.


The whole article here:

https://richarddawkins.net/2014/05/testing-the-god-hypothesis/




Setanta
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 12:50 pm
@oristarA,
oristarA wrote:
But Dawkins came to prominence internationally for publishing The God Delusion, in which he unequivocally points out that God is merely a delusion, not a scientific hypothesis.


This is utterly false, and represents the antipathetic view of holy rollers who love to hate Richard Dawkins. Dawkins first came to prominence with the publication of The Selfish Gene in the 1970s. He is an Oxford educated scientist, a Fellow the Royal Society and a very successful "popularizer" of science in the United Kingdom. Only the holy rollers with their obsessive antipathy see him as the atheistic demon of the world.
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 03:38 pm
@Tes yeux noirs,
Tes yeux noirs wrote:

Quote:
Dawkins came to prominence internationally for publishing The God Delusion, in which he unequivocally points out that God is merely a delusion, not a scientific hypothesis.

You should do two things:

1. Read Dawkins again

2. Attempt to understand what a hypothesis is.

A start on the second of these can be found in the writing of Dawkins himself, where he explains why he believes that the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis:

Quote:
In my 2007 book God: The Failed Hypothesis; How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist, I applied the scientific process of hypothesis testing to the question of God. The common objection I heard was that the existence of God is not a scientific hypothesis. Let me explain why I say it is.

The scientific method is not limited to what professional scientists do but can be applied to any question that relates to observations. The brain does not have the capacity to save the time, direction, and energy of each photon that hits the eyes. Instead it operates on a simplified picture of objects, be they rocks, trees, or people, assigning them general properties that do not encompass every detail.

That is, we make models. Science merely rationalizes the procedure, communicating by precise speech and writing among individuals who then attempt to reach an agreement on what they all have seen and how best to represent their collective observations. What are called scientific theories are just models.


The whole article here:

https://richarddawkins.net/2014/05/testing-the-god-hypothesis/




Blimey! God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist was written by Victor J. Stenger, not Richard Dawkins.
(See the page in the link you offered again. Stenger's photo was there).
By the time Dawkins wrote The God Delusion, he hadn't gone that far as Stenger did in this book. For example, Stenger said "The scientific method is not limited to what professional scientists do but can be applied to any question that relates to observations." But Dawkins admitted that "I was one of those who had unthinkingly bought into the hectoring myth that science can say nothing about morals. To my surprise, The Moral Landscape has changed all that for me." (The Moral Landscape was written by Sam Harris).
oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 03:49 pm
@Setanta,
Setanta wrote:

oristarA wrote:
But Dawkins came to prominence internationally for publishing The God Delusion, in which he unequivocally points out that God is merely a delusion, not a scientific hypothesis.


This is utterly false, and represents the antipathetic view of holy rollers who love to hate Richard Dawkins. Dawkins first came to prominence with the publication of The Selfish Gene in the 1970s. He is an Oxford educated scientist, a Fellow the Royal Society and a very successful "popularizer" of science in the United Kingdom. Only the holy rollers with their obsessive antipathy see him as the atheistic demon of the world.


Good catch.
I knew The Selfish Gene very well which brought his global fame. Wiki misled me when Ii was tired. Smile
0 Replies
 
Tes yeux noirs
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 03:54 pm
@oristarA,
Quote:
God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist was written by Victor J. Stenger, not Richard Dawkins.

You are absolutely correct. It is I, not you, who needs to read more carefully! A humbling lesson.

McTag
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 05:59 pm
@Tes yeux noirs,

Elegant retraction.
Tes yeux noirs
 
  1  
Reply Sat 7 Nov, 2015 06:27 pm
@McTag,
Tell the truth and shame the devil, my auntie used to say. She was in the Salvation Army.

0 Replies
 
 

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