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modeling existence



On Wed, 08 Oct 1997 Bob Sciamanda <sciamanda@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

We must present our subject in parables for the same reason that the
great religious founders presented their subject in parables - neither
subject is literally explicable in human terms. "We see now darkly, as
in a mirror ..."

The sooner that both religion and science acknowledge the limited
"model" basis of our understanding, the more tolerant and understanding
we will all become, and the more useful will be our models.

A very profound generalization. It was a comment on:

... A caloric substance does not exist but we can pretend it does exist
and solve many practical problems. The magnetic poles do not exist but
we can pretend they do exist and understand many gadgets, such as dc
motors and galvanometers.

I will share his observation with students when "heat" is
going to be introduced. Can a real philosopher tell us more
about "modeling interpretations of existence"?
Ludwik Kowalski