Then why do they say “Science is based on faith too!” in that angry-triumphal tone, rather than as a compliment?
When used appropriately, the “science is based on faith too” point is meant to cast doubt upon specific non-falsifiable conclusions that scientists take for granted: for instance, that the only things that exist are matter (rather than, say, an additional immaterial spirit) or that evolution happens by itself (rather than, say, being directed by an intelligent designer). Scientific evidence doesn’t distinguish between these hypotheses; it’s taken on faith that the first of these is “simpler” and deserves higher prior probability. Maybe these priors are derived from Kolmogorov complexity or something similar, but it still must be taken on faith that those measures are meaningful. (This is, of course, what you recognized when you said, “Every worldview imposes some of its structure on its observations [...].”)
Induction is not logically justified, but you can make a different argument. You could point out that creatures who ignore the apparent patterns in nature tend to die pretty quick. Induction is a behavior that seems to help us stay alive.
Isn’t this argument premised on induction, i.e., things that helped organisms stay alive in the past will help them stay alive in the future?
Then why do they say “Science is based on faith too!” in that angry-triumphal tone, rather than as a compliment?
When used appropriately, the “science is based on faith too” point is meant to cast doubt upon specific non-falsifiable conclusions that scientists take for granted: for instance, that the only things that exist are matter (rather than, say, an additional immaterial spirit) or that evolution happens by itself (rather than, say, being directed by an intelligent designer). Scientific evidence doesn’t distinguish between these hypotheses; it’s taken on faith that the first of these is “simpler” and deserves higher prior probability. Maybe these priors are derived from Kolmogorov complexity or something similar, but it still must be taken on faith that those measures are meaningful. (This is, of course, what you recognized when you said, “Every worldview imposes some of its structure on its observations [...].”)
Induction is not logically justified, but you can make a different argument. You could point out that creatures who ignore the apparent patterns in nature tend to die pretty quick. Induction is a behavior that seems to help us stay alive.
Isn’t this argument premised on induction, i.e., things that helped organisms stay alive in the past will help them stay alive in the future?