Most scientists would disavow the idea
that science proves "facts". Science can
only confirm or disconfirm theories
through experiment.

Science sprange from philosophy, in fact,
scientice used to be called "natural
philosophy" because it was that branch of
philosophy which sought to understand
the natural world.

As far as modern theories of truth,
post-modern theories of truth argue that
truth is relative to culture (fed by the data
from modern anthrology) or that the
construction of truth is a political act.
Some feminist philosophers even argue
that science itself, far from being the last
word in truth is a creation of the white
male power structure used to further the
exploitation of women, minorities,
non-human animals and the
environment.

It should be noted that the relativist
position is really nothing new--it can be
traced back at least as far as the ancient
Greek philosophers, most notably
Protagoras. The philosopher
Xenophanes suggested the relativity of
religion, when he suggested that if
horses had gods they'd be horses, not
men. Even the Greek Historian
Herodotus said "Custom is King over all"
when he noted that each culture had its
own customs which it clung to
tenaciously and viewed alien cultural
practices with disgust while cherishing
their own, whatever they happened to be.
Modern anthrology and relativist
philosophers have just given a new
presentation for these old arguments.

"There is nothing new under the sun."
--Ecclesiastes

In this last part of the course, we're going
to look at some more modern writers
(from the 19th century) and talk about the
way we form our beliefs, the ethics of
belief, and the justification of religious,
ethical and political beliefs. If we have
time, we might also briefly touch on the
Philosophy of Science.

Prof. Borrowdale