On 11/16/2003 01:35 PM, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:
> By eliminating the way of reasoning based on
> cause-and-effect considerations we would
> terminate the old and exciting process of inquiry.
On 11/18/2003 10:38 AM, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:
>
> What is gained by removing the idea of causality from physics?
I'm quite sure nobody has even suggested removing
cause-and-effect from physics or from reasoning in
general.
Scientists look for cause-and-effect relationships
the way prospectors look for valuable mineral deposits.
The ones who find the most are doing their jobs the
best ...
... but that is restricted to finding deposits that
actually exist! A prospector who _reports_ a rich
deposit when none actually exists may be honored
and celebrated, briefly -- but only briefly, and
then will be tarred and feathered and run out of
town on a rail.
So it is with causation. Finding cause-and-effect
relationships is often literally a matter of life
and death. Finding the relationships must be done
quickly and accurately. That's science ...
... but to _report_ a cause-and-effect relationship
when none actually exists isn't science. It's not even
quasi-science; it's pseudo-science or anti-science.
(The Greek root "pseudo" means false and deceptive.)
Failing to distinguish causal relationships from
non-causal relationships is the hallmark of quacks
and cults.
When I say it is improper to say "F causes ma but
not vice versa" it's not because I'm opposed to
causation. It's because I'm opposed to falsity,
deception, cults, and quackery.
Sometimes there are scenarios where something
involving a force truly causes something involving
an acceleration (and not vice versa). But you need
to deduce this based on details of the scenario other
than F=ma, because there is nothing in the F=ma
equation that specifies a direction of causation.
On the other side of the same coin, sometimes there
are scenarios where something involving an acceleration
truly causes something involving a force (and not
vice versa). But you need to deduce this based on
details of the scenario other than F=ma.