Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological Naturalism
There is a substantial literature on the question of whether methodological naturalism (MN) is and/or should be among the principles operative in the natural and social sciences; moreover the status of MN has been one of the battle grounds in prominent debates regarding the demarcation lines between...
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doaj-f848714b4a8e44faa7d22a2fdf4710c32020-11-25T00:02:55ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442019-02-0110212710.3390/rel10020127rel10020127Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological NaturalismTravis Dumsday0Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Concordia University of Edmonton, 7128 Ada Blvd., Edmonton AB, T5B 4E4, CanadaThere is a substantial literature on the question of whether methodological naturalism (MN) is and/or should be among the principles operative in the natural and social sciences; moreover the status of MN has been one of the battle grounds in prominent debates regarding the demarcation lines between science and theology (e.g., the debate over whether intelligent design hypotheses can ever count as genuinely scientific). I review some concrete examples of the use of thought experiments in this context, and argue that there are realistic thought experiments showing how metaphysical naturalism (MTN) could be subjected to empirical falsification; that in turn implies that MN should not be employed universally as an operative principle in the sciences. I conclude by discussing some recent actual experimental work concerning near-death experiences (NDEs), work which may point towards the likelihood of just such empirical falsification taking place in the relatively near future.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/2/127thought experimentnear-death experiencetheologyscienceGodnaturalism |
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DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Travis Dumsday |
spellingShingle |
Travis Dumsday Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological Naturalism Religions thought experiment near-death experience theology science God naturalism |
author_facet |
Travis Dumsday |
author_sort |
Travis Dumsday |
title |
Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological Naturalism |
title_short |
Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological Naturalism |
title_full |
Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological Naturalism |
title_fullStr |
Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological Naturalism |
title_full_unstemmed |
Thought Experiments as a Tool for Undermining Methodological Naturalism |
title_sort |
thought experiments as a tool for undermining methodological naturalism |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Religions |
issn |
2077-1444 |
publishDate |
2019-02-01 |
description |
There is a substantial literature on the question of whether methodological naturalism (MN) is and/or should be among the principles operative in the natural and social sciences; moreover the status of MN has been one of the battle grounds in prominent debates regarding the demarcation lines between science and theology (e.g., the debate over whether intelligent design hypotheses can ever count as genuinely scientific). I review some concrete examples of the use of thought experiments in this context, and argue that there are realistic thought experiments showing how metaphysical naturalism (MTN) could be subjected to empirical falsification; that in turn implies that MN should not be employed universally as an operative principle in the sciences. I conclude by discussing some recent actual experimental work concerning near-death experiences (NDEs), work which may point towards the likelihood of just such empirical falsification taking place in the relatively near future. |
topic |
thought experiment near-death experience theology science God naturalism |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/2/127 |
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