tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10760709.post116379096053389827..comments2023-10-31T10:28:50.158-04:00Comments on The Zeray Gazette: Belief in God, Rationality, and IrrationalityJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04854543617806427302noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10760709.post-1163941381226296232006-11-19T08:03:00.000-05:002006-11-19T08:03:00.000-05:00The Flying Spaghetti Monster (may you be touched b...The Flying Spaghetti Monster (may you be touched by His Noodly Appendage) can be verified by pirate attack data.<BR/><BR/>But notice that the Richard Hall event, though it was percieved by the senses, cannot be externally verified. So if this is not empirical data, what is it? What makes me think that I saw him?Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04854543617806427302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10760709.post-1163904656600383032006-11-18T21:50:00.000-05:002006-11-18T21:50:00.000-05:00Wait a minute, Jonathon Norm is blue. I have seen ...Wait a minute, Jonathon Norm is blue. I have seen him!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10760709.post-1163863469948609972006-11-18T10:24:00.000-05:002006-11-18T10:24:00.000-05:00Furthermore, one's experiences can be tricky to in...Furthermore, one's experiences can be tricky to interpret. Richard Hall may have been wearing some kind of loincloth, but one's subconscious desire to see Richard in the buff may have tricked one's mind into remembering him that way. ... just for example.Andy B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05944614269873479581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10760709.post-1163822853718845752006-11-17T23:07:00.000-05:002006-11-17T23:07:00.000-05:00That's right. Your experience can be verified by ...That's right. Your experience can be verified by you, but not by anyone else. That's why objectivity regarding one's personal experience isn't possible...and why Scripture and Tradition (and some would say Reason) typically get priority when the elements of the Quadrilateral are ranked (I suppose that opens up another can of worms!).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10760709.post-1163808988308257552006-11-17T19:16:00.000-05:002006-11-17T19:16:00.000-05:00I think this is kind of a "ships passing in the ni...I think this is kind of a "ships passing in the night" moment. Keith's definition of empirical is *one* of the correct versions, and is commonly used in the social sciences. I think his point was that while you can have an experience, it is impossible for it to be externally verified. That doesn't mean it isn't real to you, or isn't based on your experience, but I can't validate it. If I claim to have seen the flying spaghetti monster, that experience may have been empirical to me (in that I experienced it through observation), but it is not verifiable. This is neither here nor there, I suppose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10760709.post-1163799238336975352006-11-17T16:33:00.000-05:002006-11-17T16:33:00.000-05:00I'm still trying to understand what you've just la...I'm still trying to understand what you've just laid out. It's Friday afternoon, so my mind isn't that sharp right now.<BR/>I'll try again later. Have a good weekend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com