Sunday 17 September 2023

Sources Of Science

"Such genuine religious feeling as is to be found in Homer is less concerned with the gods of Olympus than with more shadowy beings such as Fate or Necessity or Destiny, to whom even Zeus is subject. Fate exercised a great influence on all Greek thought, and perhaps was one of the sources from which science derived the belief in natural law."
-Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy (London, 1979), BOOK ONE, PART 1, Chapter 1, p. 32.

(We have the subjective experience of choosing even if objectively our actions are destined.)

"'As Whitehead pointed out, the medieval idea of one almighty God was important to the growth of science, by inculcating the notion of lawfulness in nature.'"
-Poul Anderson, "Delenda Est" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, December 2010), pp. 173-228 AT 4, p. 197.

We have quoted Anderson's Manse Everard quoting Whitehead before so I thought that it was important also to quote Russell.

In Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, Destiny and God coexist.

14 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Except I am not satisfied with what Lord Russell said about "Fate" being one of the sources for a true science arising in the West. That "Fate" seems too vague and ill-defined to be the source of anything.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

It seems very definite and concrete to me. If everything is predestined, then it is not random or arbitrary.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And that is another thing where we will have to agree to disagree.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

Though in fact human history -is- random and arbitrary; however, this makes most human beings profoundly uneasy, as if the ground was threatening to shift beneath their feet at any moment.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I agree, human history is chaotic and unpredictable. Except Catholics believe God has intervened, and continues to intervene, n that history.

Ad astra! Sean













paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

God, as omnipotent, would have providential control over all of history.

DaveShoup2MD said...


Short answer; Nobody knows.

Chance is a thing, of course, in the physical universe as we know it; fate or luck? Nope.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Dave!

Well, I believe that we do have some knowledge, granted to us thru revelation. But that won't convince those who disbelieve in Christianity.

Ad astra! Sean

DaveShoup2MD said...


Religion may bring faith, or even belief, or philosophy, or even - to use an old-fashioned word - morality.

But knowledge? Nope.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Dave!

But faith in something that A believes is true will still be considered knowledge by A even if B does not agree.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

Sometimes the dice run in your favor. This is known as "luck". Sometimes they run against you. This is known as "bad luck".

The fact that something is -probable- does not mean it will actually -happen- in any particular instance. Violently unlikely things happen all the time. The dice average out over time, not over any one throw -- or sometimes, over a dozen throws.

And in human affairs, "luck" (as in the dice falling one way or another) is enormously important.

That's why 'laws of history' are nonsense.

DaveShoup2MD said...


Chance is a thing.

"Luck" is not. As has been said, it's a smile on a dog.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I agree. Which is why I seldom gamble!

Well, Dominic Flandry was an expert at poker, so he knew how to play well enough to come out ahead more often than not.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

DS: when you roll four sixes in a row, what would you call it?

Luck is a -descriptive- term. The dice have no memory; everyone but the deeply stupid know that.

But sometimes you roll four sixes in a row, and we need a term for that.