When Does Science Become Philosophy?

surferdude wrote:

And don't forget science has also given us every weapon of destruction; guns, knives, nuclear bommbs, climate change. Looks like what Christianity couldn't do science has the intent to do, wipe humanity off of the face of earth. Thanks science, what a great philosophy. I'm so glad science is beyond questioning.

Ahnimus wrote:

Religion extends life? Prove it.

Does it extend life to an equal length that saving an infant from a dread disease does?

You can't compare with any sound reason the achievments of science with those of religion.

"Studies have shown that religiosity is associated with lower rates of cirrhosis, emphysema, suicide and heart disease. Of course, much of this health effect could come from religion's conventional taboos on smoking, alcohol, drugs and sex, which can all lead to disease.

The evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson, at Binghamton University in New York, says religion contributes to psychological health. For several years, he has been giving beepers to volunteers. Some are religious, some aren't. At different points in the day, the beepers go off. The subjects record their activities and habits, their health and their moods.

"I can prove to you on a moment-by-moment basis that, statistically, religious believers are happier, are using time more productively, and are less anxious."

Richard Sosis, a University of Connecticut anthropologist, has shown how religion fosters social behaviors working together, sharing, fighting wars against enemies that allow individuals to survive and thrive as members of a group.

In a 2000 study, Sosis catalogued 200 communes from the 19th century, some religious and some secular, and found thatthe religious ones were four times more likely to survive.

...Wilson says the costs of religious rituals are outweighed by the benefits of a committed community.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/jun/16/scientists-examine-evolution-of-belief/

"Even among younger patients, spiritual practices assume substantial importance. Consider a study of 108 patients (mean age 38 years) from medical practices in Sydney, in which researchers examined patients' experiences concerning the efficacy of 25 coping behaviours.5 Forty-one per cent of subjects indicated they would increase prayer in response to stress, 56% said prayer was helpful and, overall, prayer was ranked seventh in effectiveness, ahead of 18 other traditional coping behaviours, such as discussing the problem, seeking advice, spending time with friends, or socialising. Similar findings emerge among psychiatric patients. A study of 79 psychiatric patients at Broken Hill Base Hospital in New South Wales found that 79% rated spirituality as very important, 82% thought their therapist should be aware of their spiritual beliefs and needs, and 67% indicated that spirituality helped them cope with psychological pain.6 Thus, at least preliminary research suggests spiritual needs are not uncommon among Australian patients.

Is religion related to better health in Australia? Although research is less plentiful than in the US, it is not entirely absent.7 Australian studies have found greater marital stability, less alcohol and illicit drug use, lower rates of and more negative attitudes toward suicide, less anxiety and depression, and greater altruism among the religious. Religiosity has also been associated with less cigarette smoking, more conservative sexual practices (reducing risk of sexually transmitted diseases), lower cortisol and catecholamine levels (for meditators), lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, longer survival (Seventh Day Adventists), and even lower risk for colon cancer.8 Such findings are similar to those in the US,7 and, although more research is needed, these findings cannot be ignored."
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/178_02_200103/koe10531_fm.html

Investigating a "new frontier" in medicine, a recent study in the journal "Family Medicine" discovered a link between patients' spirituality and better overall health...

In a random survey of more than 440 patients at a suburban family medicine clinic, researchers found that persons with either a high or moderately high internally motivated relationship with God were much more likely to experience better health.

Each patient filled out a questionnaire developed at Dartmouth to examine a patient's health and level of physical pain. They also responded to a questionnaire to assess "intrinsic" spirituality -- a personal connection with God or a Higher Power that gives life meaning and guides life choices. This contrasts with an "extrinsic" measure such as simply believing in God or having membership in a church or synagogue, which may or may not affect one's internal motivations, the researchers explained.

"Differences in health were greatest between patients having a low level of spirituality and those with either moderate or high levels," noted the Georgia State University research team. This confirmed other research that found spiritual commitment may enhance prevention, coping and recovery from illness and surgery. http://www.hdlighthouse.org/see/diet/spirit.htm

godpt3 wrote:

well, experimentation can take the form of both lab research AND empirical observations, so I'd argue that alot of the global warming stuff does in fact count as science. But there's huge controversy over whether or not stuff like string theory can currently be counted as science, since by it's very nature, the study of 11th dimension space isn't possible.


And I'd argue that determinism/free will was never a science to begin with.

sweetpotato wrote:

into these brackets you could insert any number of things that bring people peace, such as: people who practice meditation/yoga; who exercise and eat right; who practice safe sex; don't smoke or do drugs or abuse alcohol; who pay their bills on time; who have loving relationships; who take vacations... religion doesn't have a corner on the market of long living. whatever reduces stress and makes you feel calm and/or at peace can have the same effect as prayer.

angelica wrote:

Yes. Meditation is shown as having the same effect in the brain as deep prayer (studied with Franciscan nuns and Buddhist meditation), whereupon one can experience oneness with their surroundings, and a release from one's sense of defined, individual egoistic self into the expansive wholeness of Unitary Being. One of my most prominant spiritual disciplines is meditation. To me, I see the similarities between such practise of yoga/meditation/prayer. They are all ways of transcending the self, and comprehending and connecting at a deeper level of reality, with the subsequent adaptive consequences. Faith/spirituality/oneness with all things, to me, are all very closely connected. Contrarily, separation, fragmentation in one's perceptions, and feelings of isolation, conflict and disconnection with one's environment, and the negative fallout of such being using maladaptive responses, is...maladaptive.

We can choose: positive/negative. adaptive/maladaptive. "good"/"bad". And we will experience the precise consequences for such choice. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The universe is our mirror.

Ahnimus wrote:

Angelica,

All that research openly admits that it isn't religiousity it's self that has those effects. It's just as I suggested, they tend to have habits that are good, because they are dedicated.