[ExI] Fundamentalism and a Scientific Outlook

[Russell Wallace]

On 5/3/07, Lee Corbin <lcorbin at rawbw.com> wrote:
>
> How about Santa Claus?  Do you really think that there is a fact of the
> matter regarding an individual who lives at the north pole and arranges
> for gifts to somewhat magically be delivered on Christmas day to
> deserving children around the world?


There are various sources of data that entitle me to claim there is a fact
of the matter in this case, such as the observed absence of Santa's workshop
at the geographical north pole. This would be equivalent to the example I
gave about the absence of gods on top of Mount Olympus.

If a variant of the Santa Claus story placed him in a Platonic realm outside
our universe and didn't insist he _literally_ climbs down chimneys on
Christmas Eve, it would stop being so clear to me that there was a fact of
the matter, and I would start evaluating the story on other criteria.

Which reminds me of a Terry Pratchett quote... *rummage* here we are:

Death: Humans need fantasy to *be* human. To be the place where the falling
angel meets the rising ape.
Susan: With tooth fairies? Hogfathers?
Death: Yes. As practice, you have to start out learning to believe the
little lies.
Susan: So we can believe the big ones?
Death: Yes. Justice, mercy, duty. That sort of thing.
Susan: They're not the same at all.
Death: You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest
powder, and sieve it through the finest sieve, and then show me one atom of
justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet, you try to act as if there is some
ideal order in the world. As if there is some, some rightness in the
universe, by which it may be judged.
Susan: But people have got to believe that, or what's the point?
Death: You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they
become?

And my question stands: do you not agree that he who sets out to destroy
something vital, should first have a viable replacement ready?
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