The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #117208   Message #2523987
Posted By: GUEST,lox
24-Dec-08 - 01:55 PM
Thread Name: BS: creationism to be taught in UK schools?
Subject: RE: BS: creationism to be taught in UK schools?
An important stumbling block for this kind of conversation that needs to be addressed is that many people who think they know what a theory is, actually don't.

Most people confuse the meaning of "theory" for the meaning of "hypothesis".

They believe that a theory is a point of view or an opinion, imagined and elaborated on to offer an explanation for things. They say "my theory is as good as yours since neither of us knows for sure."

Theory has different meanings in different contexts.

Like the word "Kind" which has different meanings dependant on where it is employed.

In the context of science, "Theory" has the following definitions.

"A set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena."

" a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory" "

"In science, an explanation or model that covers a substantial group of occurrences in nature and has been confirmed by a substantial number of experiments and observations. A theory is more general and better verified than a hypothesis."

Creationist theory, according to the above definitions, is not a scientific theory as it is not based on observation, but is merely an idea for which proof is saught by creationists.

Yes we can all offer possible explanations for the universe, but they would not be Theories as that is not what the word means.