Pigliucci Challenges Randomness (Religion)

by dhw, Sunday, January 24, 2010, 12:08 (5204 days ago) @ xeno6696

MATT: Where the language analogy will cause us issues in this discussion, is that man really was able to do whatever he wanted in terms of creating language [...] There was no preordained system to determine what meant what prior to invention of the verbal symbol. [...] However, when we're dealing with physical laws, there is a cause-effect relationship involved that CAN'T mean whatever we want it to mean.-Matt, it was you who introduced the analogy. Initially, I thought it was a good one, but the more we've discussed it, the more convinced I am that it's a dead end. We don't know whether the origin of life required conscious intelligence or not, but we do know that the origin of language required intelligence, as does its evolution. Your excellent argument above is enough for me. The analogy is false.-But language in itself is a subject I'm very anxious to discuss, because although it's our best instrument of communication, its subjective use and misuse underlie most of our misunderstandings, while even in the field of science it can be used to deceive. I'm hoping to start a new thread on this soon, but at the moment I'm having a hard time keeping up with you, David and George! (All good stuff, though, so don't wait for me!)