1. Quoting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor, "In the scientific
method, parsimony is an epistemological, metaphysical or heuristic preference,
not an irrefutable principle of logic or a scientific result." (01)
It is certainly metaphysically justifiable to prefer a theory that explains the
observed evidence without making use of a supreme deity. However, parsimony
does not constitute scientific proof. (02)
2. Your argument presupposes that "God" means "supreme being who makes
supernatural things happen." While this is (at least in part) what some people
mean by God, it is by no means a universal view. I know many people -- some of
them clergy -- who believe in God, but do not believe miracles happen. (03)
On Apr 25, 2013, at 12:39 AM, Pat Hayes wrote: (04)
>
> On Apr 24, 2013, at 10:11 PM, John F Sowa wrote:
>
>> I'm willing to grant that all arguments for the existence of God
>> are unscientific. But I also believe that all arguments *against*
>> the existence of God are equally unscientific. It's actually harder
>> to develop a solid proof that something does *not* exist.
>
>
> The basic scientific argument against the existence of God is that there is
>absolutely no observational evidence for the existence of a God, nor any
>reason to hypothesise such an entity in order to explain anything that is
>observable. A very straightforward application of Occam's principle then
>suffices. Of course this is not a *proof*, but it is a sound *scientific*
>argument. Proofs are irrelevant here. There is no proof that the flying
>spaghetti monster does not exist, but that does not shake the faith of the
>true Pastafarian. (05)
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