[MD] Are theists irrational?

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Ian]
How can you "reduce" my saying science is 1% "faith" (untestable 
authoritatively accepted social belief if you prefer) to saying 
science is just another "theism" whose whole basis is faith. 
Monstrous allegation based on nothing I even remotely suggested.

[Arlo]
I didn't say this is what you were saying, Ian, I said its latching 
onto science as "faith-based" that is the impetus for people like 
Mark to reduce everything to just another "theism". Science, the MOQ, 
Christianity... all just "theisms" to Mark.

[Ian]
I did (and do) use the word contingent, but there is an achilles heel 
in science, that doesn't recognize contingency everywhere, only at 
places where "the method" applies. And then ignores any kind of value 
in knowledge where the method cannot be applied.

[Arlo]
Well of course, this is the criticism of S/O science that Pirsig 
discusses in LILA. As I said many times in the past there is an 
essential blind-spot in any and all symbolic representations of 
experience. No problem there. Much of science historically has been 
from an erroneous S/O position. All criticisms valid and necessary.

[Ian]
The massive difference between theism and science (archteypically) is 
that the former is blind by choice of tradition, the latter merely 
has a blind spot.

[Arlo]
And I'd say that the "blind spot" in science (or any symbolic system) 
is an inherent feature that can never be overcome. As such, its not 
an obstacle to be condemned, but the basis for your "contingence".

Getting back to, again, the Haitian earthquake, I doubt there are any 
scientists among those who understand the event to be the result of 
geological forces such as plate-tectonics who, if a better theory 
came along (say something like quantum disturbances in the subspace 
field) would reject it. Indeed, I'd venture most would embrace it. 
That is, theists advocating the event as a result of an angry god 
punishing voodooers do so on "faith", scientists explaining the event 
as the result of plate tectonics do so based on contingence.

[Ian]
Get a grip Arlo.

[Arlo]
I'm trying.