All Things
- Logical Fallacies
Stephen HawkingIn the previous article I mentioned that advocates of materialistic scientism often fall in logical fallacies, but usually do not notice, probably because their knowledge of philosophy is not deep enough. Moreover, they often despise philosophy,...
- We Are Not Living In A Simulation: A Note On Nick Bostrom?s Proposal
Simulation of the collision of two galaxiesIn a paper published in 2003 [1] Nick Bostrom proposed the following reasoning:A technologically mature ?posthuman? civilization would have enormous computing power. Based on this empirical fact, the simulation...
- About The Problem Of Evil
The Auschwitz concentration campIn a previous article on the hunting hymenoptera I mentioned the problem of evil, often called the problem of pain, the well-known title of a book by CS Lewis. Although this question is mainly ethical or philosophical,...
- Science Is A Tool
Francis BaconThe utopia The New Atlantis, written by Francis Bacon, a contemporary of Galileo and pioneer of modern philosophy of science, describes a perfect society that would automatically arise from the practice of science, which the inhabitants of...
- The Dawkins Delusion
Richard DawkinsThis is my analysis of Richard Dawkins book, The God Delusion (2006). I'll start by signaling a couple of inconsistencies. There are many more, but detailing all would require a book size.· In...
All Things
Hallucinations
In a paper (Visions for all) published in its April 7th 2012 issue, Science News summarizes the work of Tanya Luhrmann about the God experiences that many people claim to have felt. After four years of research, the anthropologist believes that she has proved the surprising conclusion that normal people can have hallucinations. But since hallucinations are common in diseases like schizophrenia and psychosis, she predicts that people who have many of these experiences are likely to end up psychotic. In particular, the article says, it is possible that Joan of Arc would have become psychotic if the British had not burned her.
This argumentation has a hidden premise. If we make it explicit, the associated reasoning can be summarized as follows:
- God does not exist.
- Therefore all reports on God experiences must be hallucinations.
- Many normal people claim they have had God experiences.
- Therefore many ordinary people suffer hallucinations.
- Having many hallucinations can lead to schizophrenia or psychosis.
- Therefore Joan of Arc would have become psychotic if the British had not burned her.
But if the first premise, the hidden premise, is false, (i.e. if God exists), the whole argument falls to the ground, for some of those God experiences could be genuine rather than hallucinatory. In particular, the unwarranted and useless conclusion about Joan of Arc is disavowed.
It is a shame that serious journals like Science News fall in these fallacies that rely on hidden assumptions which are unscientific, unproven and even worse: impossible to prove.
The same post in Spanish
Manuel Alfonseca- Logical Fallacies
Stephen HawkingIn the previous article I mentioned that advocates of materialistic scientism often fall in logical fallacies, but usually do not notice, probably because their knowledge of philosophy is not deep enough. Moreover, they often despise philosophy,...
- We Are Not Living In A Simulation: A Note On Nick Bostrom?s Proposal
Simulation of the collision of two galaxiesIn a paper published in 2003 [1] Nick Bostrom proposed the following reasoning:A technologically mature ?posthuman? civilization would have enormous computing power. Based on this empirical fact, the simulation...
- About The Problem Of Evil
The Auschwitz concentration campIn a previous article on the hunting hymenoptera I mentioned the problem of evil, often called the problem of pain, the well-known title of a book by CS Lewis. Although this question is mainly ethical or philosophical,...
- Science Is A Tool
Francis BaconThe utopia The New Atlantis, written by Francis Bacon, a contemporary of Galileo and pioneer of modern philosophy of science, describes a perfect society that would automatically arise from the practice of science, which the inhabitants of...
- The Dawkins Delusion
Richard DawkinsThis is my analysis of Richard Dawkins book, The God Delusion (2006). I'll start by signaling a couple of inconsistencies. There are many more, but detailing all would require a book size.· In...