Why it is incorrect to have "Faith" in science.

An argument that many Skeptics encounter from Creationist’s is that we have “Faith” in Science.

 

This is incorrect and fundamentally flawed because faith is trust in the absence of evidence. Supporting the scientific method is about as far from “faith” as you can possibly get. Science is the body of knowledge that describes the order of nature and the cause of that order. It is an on going progress of collecting and collaborating knowledge about the universe and organising that knowledge into testable laws and theories.

 

Scientific laws and principles are not absolute and immune from change. If a scientist finds evidence that contradicts a law or principle then that law or priciple must be either changed to accommodate the new evidence or be abandoned altogether. For example the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) claimed that an object will fall at a speed apparent to it’s weight. This idea was held to be true for nearly two thousand years, due to Aristotle’s unquestioned scientific authority in the field. Until Galileo (1564-1642 AD) showed Aristotle’s principle to be incorrect with an experiment that involved dropping objects of various weight from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This experiment invalidated Aristotle’s earlier hypothesis despite his scientific authority. In Science a single verifiable experiment can invalidate an established law or principle and outweighs the authority of the person whose principle is being invalidated. The Argument from Authority has little value in the modern Scientific Method.

 

In science all claims must be backed up by verifiable evidence that supports the claim otherwise it is not a valid Scientific Principle. Therefore Skeptics and Scientists do not have “Faith” in science. We support the Scientific method which requires our claims to be supported by evidence and stand up to scientific scrutiny. The Scientific Method also requires us to be corrected when verifiable evidence to the contrary is produced. Religion does not do any of these things, religion relies on “Faith” which is acceptance in the absence of evidence and a strong reluctance to accommodate new idea’s. So for a Creationist to claim that a Skeptic has “Faith” in science is completely incorrect.

 

 

 



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