Other Forms of Life (Evolution)

by dhw, Saturday, December 13, 2008, 09:07 (5621 days ago) @ BBella

This thread embraces a wide range of themes, and I'd like to follow up on just two of BBella's observations. - Firstly, what constitutes evidence? In a court of law, we take very seriously the evidence of eyewitnesses, particularly if corroborated by other eyewitnesses. BBella argues that at least the same respect should be shown to those who claim to have witnessed events or sights that defy rational explanation. I would not confine these to UFOs. Encounters with the supernatural, communication with the dead, experiences of ESP, near-death episodes....Reports of such phenomena go back over many centuries and through all cultures. Either every single eyewitness account is a matter of delusion/ fraud/ misinterpretation etc., or there is something beyond the natural world as we know it. Science is only equipped to deal with the latter, and so science can only help us by providing natural explanations for these apparently non-natural phenomena. Unless or until it does so, dismissal can only be based on prejudice. That, of course, is not the same as saying you must believe everything you hear, but you do not call an eyewitness a fool or a liar until you have proof that he is wrong. - Secondly, there is no getting round the fact that we are far more likely to believe what we have experienced first-hand than to accept tales told by people we know nothing about. BBella writes: "Probably, if asked, everyone knows someone who has witnessed or experienced something unexplainable by modern knowledge." In the Brief Guide (7. Where is it now?), I have given a very short account of a couple of strange incidents that took place in Africa ... one directly involving myself, another involving my wife. BBella, you say that you yourself have a number of interesting accounts from "extremely reliable sources". You were kind enough to tell us the story of your own out-of-body experience, and although I don't want to pressurize you, I for one would be very interested to hear more. Perhaps there are also other people out there who might like to recount their experiences.