One thing that is surprising is that we don't teach how science works in elementary school.
That we don't teach the fundamentals between testable science and what is not testable science.
The scientific method and basic logic should be part of the core curriculum of our elementary schools.
So here, I am going to ask the question: how do you tell the difference between science and someone just spinning tales?
And where does philosophy fit in?
There are two very powerful tools of logic to use to tell the difference between science and someone simply making up stories.
First, science should be testable.
It should be possible to prove the theory wrong if you find the right evidence.
But there is a second.
Which is logical consistency.
First, does something contradict itself?
And then go beyond that.
Bring in information from other fields.
If something is logical and reflects the reality of the world, then it should make more and more sense the more information you pull in from other fields, and the more fields you draw from.
And if it is just someone making up stories, it should make less and less sense the more information you pull in from other fields.
For example, as an Egyptologist, a historian who studies ancient Egypt, you might wonder what caused the fall of Old Kingdom Egypt.
You look in other history, and you find that the Akkadian Empire in Iraq fell around the same time. And so did Troy II.
Then you look at climatology data, and you find that there was a massive drought around that time.
The more information you pull in from other fields, the more sense it makes.
If something is rational and reflects reality, than it should make more and more sense as you pull information in from other fields.
And if it is just tale-spinning, it should make less and less sense. Usually, you can tell the difference real quick.
And this leads to a third category.
There is science.
There is mere tale-spinning.
And there are ideas that cannot be tested, cannot be proven wrong, but are still logically consistent, and make more and more sense the more information you pull in from other fields.
For example, the idea that how you feel is more important than what is real out there in the material world.
You cannot test for that.
You cannot prove it wrong.
But is it logically consistent? You bet.
Does it make more and more sense the more information you pull in from other fields? You bet.
This is the third category.
This is philosophy.
Ideas that cannot be tested, but are still logically consistent.
You can still tell if the ideas make more and more sense when you pull in information in from other fields.
This is philosophy, and this is how to tell the difference.
God loves you! Be happy and enjoy life!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson