Hi Denis:
I still have a few bones to pick with you--nothing serious I assure you
but enough to warrant further inquiry.
You wrote: "A tautological truth is therefore always true, and by
definition that means absolute."
I have always believed that such a thing existed as "absolute truth" and
it appears you have confirmed my belief. Thus, those who claim, "there
are no absolutes" are not only being self-contradictory, but wrong as
well. Agree?
You wrote, "Falsifiability is ingrained in the definition of the scientific
method."
Popper and his acolytes may think so, but there are plenty of
philosophers around who don't buy it, my favorite being David Stove of
Australia. At issue: not only the absurd relativity that such a definition
leads to (P.K. Feyerabend's suggestion that scientific laws should be
decided by public vote) but also the fallibility of observation (the raven
may be dyed red, or not a raven at all).
What's more, it has always baffled me that many scientific propositions
are themselves beyond the pale of science. For example, the
proposition that a statement is scientific only if it is falsifiable cannot be
falsified. Or, the proposition that the universe is made up of nothing but
matter and energy consists of neither matter nor energy. Or, the
proposition that only that which can be measured exists cannot itself
be measured.
IMO all of this falls into the general domain of paradox where to say "it
is impossible to prove anything beyond the shadow of a doubt"
becomes as self-contradictory as "there is no such thing as language,
no such thing as writing and no such thing as words."
So those are the bones. I am told that Europeans, especially the
French, have a better education than Americans in the subtleties of
philosophy and reason. So I look to you to disabuse me of my errant
ways and set me aright.
Platt
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