Difference between science and religion

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the fundamental differences between science and religion. Science is characterized by its reliance on relative truths that can be tested and disproven, while religion is defined by absolute statements that cannot be proven or disproven. Participants argue that science requires rigorous effort to acquire knowledge, whereas religion offers immediate answers through belief without the necessity of evidence. The conversation also touches on the idea that both domains can coexist without being mutually exclusive, as they address different types of questions.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of scientific methodology and its principles of falsifiability.
  • Familiarity with philosophical concepts regarding belief and knowledge.
  • Knowledge of the historical context of science and religion.
  • Awareness of the implications of absolute versus relative truths.
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the philosophy of science, focusing on Karl Popper's falsifiability criterion.
  • Research the historical relationship between science and religion, including key figures and events.
  • Study the implications of absolute versus relative truths in philosophical discourse.
  • Investigate contemporary debates on the coexistence of science and religion in modern society.
USEFUL FOR

Philosophers, educators, students of science and religion, and anyone interested in the discourse surrounding the nature of knowledge and belief systems.

  • #61
Originally posted by russ_watters
Summarizing? No, I think the word you are looking for is PLAGARIZING.

There was a specific demand for a definition of materialism / dialectical-materialism.
 
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  • #62
Originally posted by heusdens
There is more one can say:
1. All concepts of God we know so far have failed to proof their existence
OK.
2. We know religion was an invention of early humanity, to "explain" things for which humanity at that time had no scientific explenation.
I'm not sure I like the word "scientific" but ok.

3. The world can be known through science

This is an assumption of science. It certainly isn't proven. As a matter of fact, many think that we will never be able to have complete knowledge of the world.
4. There isn't any reason to belief in any God [/B]


This is a subjective opinion. Many people will look at a work of art and hold a different opinion about it's origin. Just because you are able to believe an ordered universe originates from a box full of rocks doesn't mean that someone else doesn't have a different perspective or appreciation. Your statement might be ok if you started the sentence off with the phrase "Scientifically speaking".

Overall, I'm still struggling with your point. This comparison seems definitely to be a judgement.
 
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  • #63
Originally posted by drag
You guys...

heusdens just bothered to post all that
summarizing of philosophy and all you're
bothered with is the length of the posts. :frown:

I guess I would agree if I thought it was really a summary. But there's no way he is summarizing. It reads like excerpts from a book. And even if it were a summary, I would still need to comment that it is poorly summarized.

I just don't have time to read through pages and pages of book excerpts on Dialectic Materialism. Especially when I could swear I read the same excerpts in about 5 other threads.
 
  • #64
Originally posted by Fliption
This is an assumption of science. It certainly isn't proven. As a matter of fact, many think that we will never be able to have complete knowledge of the world.

The history of science shows that we know a great deal now, we didn't know before. There is no end to what we can know.

Fact is of couse, we will never have complete knowledge.
Science is not dealing with absolutes. Absolute knowledge is simply impossible, we will develop from one relative thruth to another relative truth.


This is a subjective opinion. Many people will look at a work of art and hold a different opinion about it's origin. Just because you are able to believe an ordered universe originates from a box full of rocks doesn't mean that someone else doesn't have a different perspective or appreciation. Your statement might be ok if you started the sentence off with the phrase "Scientifically speaking".

Overall, I'm still struggling with your point. This comparison seems definitely to be a judgement.

Yeah. Implicitly the judgement is, wether or not God exists, we can think about it till our head turns round, but we never find an answer to that.

While in science, we can observe, we can test, and we can makes theories, and this means some progress in knowledge can ba made.

My opinion is then, with the first, we never come any further, through science, we will at least be heading towards a better understanding.
 
  • #65
Originally posted by heusdens
My opinion is then, with the first, we never come any further, through science, we will at least be heading towards a better understanding.

Yeah I can buy all that. But the mischievous side of me can't help but think of the ironic possibility that science will progress it's knowledge only to lend more credibility to the other approach.


I'm not saying this will happen or even could happen. I just think it would be funny if it did.
 
  • #66
Originally posted by Fliption
Yeah I can buy all that. But the mischievous side of me can't help but think of the ironic possibility that science will progress it's knowledge only to lend more credibility to the other approach.

I'm not saying this will happen or even could happen. I just think it would be funny if it did.

This would not change the choice pro science, would it?

The other thing is interpretation. No matter how science portrays and investigates the world to be, we can still choose an interpretation of outside reality.
 
  • #67
Originally posted by drag
Science TRIES to explain, it doesn't say it CAN
and MUST be able to. In fact, so far it says
it is most likely that it CAN NOT explain all
things to mankind, because science uses reasoning
systems the common thing about which is the
fact that they seemingly can not fully explain
the Universe.[/B]

The fact that the aim of Science is to describe the phenomena within the Universe shows that, at it's heart, there is an assumption: That the phenomena of the Universe can be explained, to at least some degree of accuracy.
 

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