But you're right about me and Plato. Can't stand the fellow.
Joanna
Carrol Cox wrote:
>Miles Jackson wrote:
>
>
>>joanna wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Miles Jackson wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>. In contrast, recent research
>>>>on hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women has shown that
>>>>the "pump em with estrogen" strategy has no positive therapeutic
>>>>effects and actually increases a woman's risk of ovarian cancer.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>But Miles, when estrogen therapy was introduced, there were lots of
>>>tests that demonstrated it was the best thing since sliced bread.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>Yes, and it was through continued scientific research that we
>>discovered that the original research was flawed. This is a wonderful
>>example of the self-correcting nature of scientific work, not a reason
>>to be skeptical of scientific research!
>>
>>
>
>Joanna's argument would lead us to sneer at physics because Newton
>failed to develop general relativity. And it is not just science in the
>narrow sense that grows _only_ through error and the correction of error
>(and correction depends on _first_ practicing on the basis of assuming
>as true what later turns out to be false). All human knowledge
>ultimately grows out of human practice, and human practice is
>honey-combed with error. It is no objection whatever to modern medicine
>to list the errors that are made. Joanna hates Plato, but her argument
>here is grounded in a Platonic concept of knowledge. Plato claimed that
>a mathematician wasn't a mathematician when he was committing an error.
>Joanna claims that physicians aren't physicians when they are committing
>an error.
>
>Carrol
>
>
>
>>Miles
>>___________________________________
>>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>>
>>
>___________________________________
>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
>
>
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