• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Search results

  1. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    Apparently, there's big money to be made from noobs. Astrology literature tends to take itself literally. It's certainly noobish to break up with someone based their astrological sign. http://www.astrology.com/game/compatibility/zodiac-signs/love.html...
  2. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    So, you have just proved my point. Astrology is just one game among many. The practitioner imposes meaning on the game rather than the reverse. If I wanted to say I was born on August 23 instead of March 23, it wouldn't matter since I impose meaning on the horoscope, not the other way around...
  3. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    So again, if I gave a false birthdate (or if I didn't know my date of birth and made up something) to an astrologer, why would it matter? If everything is symbolic language to spur subconscious thoughts.
  4. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    The thing is that words are constantly being created and reassigned meaning. Words themselves mean different things in different languages. If a word is no longer useful, or its meaning needs to be changed, they meaning changes. Language is driven by utility. English from Chaucer's time is very...
  5. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    From Pagan Grove How to Identify Pseudoscience Psychologists Rodney Schmaltz and Scott Lilienfeld have identified seven clear signs of pseudoscience: The use of psychobabble – words that sound scientific and professional but are used incorrectly, or in a misleading manner. A substantial...
  6. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    So, what you're saying is that astrology is really just a creative, thinking tool which doesn't need to be supernatural? This would mean if I switched around the meanings assigned to the different signs of the Zodiac, it wouldn't matter. It would all be just a game. So, yes I ask a question to...
  7. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    The problem with consulting as astrology as an expert in astrology is that astrology does not change, even in the face of contrary evidence. As it is stated here: http://www.helsinki.fi/teoreettinen...hagard_-_Why_Astrology_Is_A_Pseudoscience.pdf "A theory or discipline which purports to be...
  8. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    From what I understand, the only way to gain knowledge of pseudoscience is through experience. Experience is a poor way of knowing something, because our perceptions are easily distorted and tend to conform to our biases. If I glean knowledge of a subject from reading about it in a book or...
  9. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    I certainly have experience of a chiropractor who tried to convince my mother that "adjustments" would cure her vertigo problem and headaches (all it did was cost money and infuriated my father, who only saw my mother not get better). I dislike Woo for the same reason I dislike Young Earth...
  10. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    Crystals 1999 Test and 2001 Double-Blind Test http://www.myinformedlife.co.uk/crystal-therapy-really-work/ "Whether the crystal was real or fake did not produce any significant difference in the strength of the sensations reported by participants. As such, the researchers concluded that the...
  11. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    That is a false analogy. Money is quantifiable. It can be used to acquire goods and services. Medicine used and dispensed improperly can cause addiction and adverse reactions. The chemical action of real medication is knowable and quantifiable Both these things are impersonal mechanisms which...
  12. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    Placebos are a good solution for hypochondriacs and I agree that it's often better to let more minor ailments run their courses ( especially ones like the common cold which cannot be cured). However, woo is often used as a simple solution to complex problems, both medically and in other facets...
  13. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    The placebo effect might be justifiable except that New Age practices are promoted by charlatans who charge for their services, and spout pseudoscientific explanations which co-op the language of actual science (eg. The "vibrations" of the Law of Attraction, channeling "energy"). These...
  14. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    Power of suggestion. Scientific studies have shown that crystal believers will believe in the effects of crystals whether they are given real or fake crystals http://m.livescience.com/40347-crystal-healing.html
  15. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    Ugh, Placebo effect and confirmation bias. Correlation does not equal causation.
  16. H

    Woo, Pseudoscience and the limits of relativism

    I had a Wiccan friend criticize me for calling Psychics, Astrology and Magic Crystals pseudoscience. He argued that we can't prove that these things don't work (we actually can), and there is energy and forces in the universe we aren't aware of yet (perhaps, but these have no bearing on these...
  17. H

    Are there Pagans who are explicitly animist

    Is there a place in the Wiccan Do animists need to be monist/pantheists? Can distinct spirits exist chaotically in the natural world without them being metaphysically connected?
  18. H

    Are there Pagans who are explicitly animist

    But an animist doesn't need to adhere to the sabbats and esbats, doesn't need to believe in energy or magick, doesn't even need to be pantheistic. If someone isn't a Wiccan or a reconstructionist and doesn't do the above, are they still Pagan
  19. H

    Are there Pagans who are explicitly animist

    Without polytheism/belief in gods. How would animist belief work in reality. Could someone who doesn't belief in the Rede, duotheism etc. be part of Pagan culture?
  20. H

    Does God need gender?

    The traditional Abrahamic god is regarded as male though many Christian theologians seem to regard Him as both and neither. Many Pagans believe in a male God and female Goddess as a great cosmic duality (however the role of the God has diminished over time). My question is does the concept of a...
Top