After a rocky start this thread has settled down nicely and is generating more light than heat. Thank you for all your constructive contributions.
I always know when were getting down to the nitty gritty when Amos starts to calling me names.
Carol C's relativist red herring is very useful when defending belief in ideas for which there is no testable evidence.
I am not a gross materialist despite being portrayed as this particular Aunt Sally.
There are many things that I believe in that I cannot "prove" such as the existence of other minds, but my belief is not a matter of faith but empirically testable in every interaction with other people I have, besides as Wittgenstein showed use of language is predicated on belief in others.

PP