4 ms·
It might be helpful to think about this situation this way: What is your evidence that oxygen exists? How would you test that? What tools would you need to t
by aperrien 6y ago
It might be helpful to think about this situation this way:
What is your evidence that oxygen exists?
How would you test that?
What tools would you need to test that?
How do you know those tools work the way that you expect?
- jbay808 6y ago(I think the above comment is rhetorical, but if anyone wants to actually see what a serious answer to those questions might look like, I strongly recommend Michael Faraday's "the chemical history of a candle".)
- swayvil 6y agoSuch a line of investigation would establish strong empirical grounding for any models you might come up with. But you'd have to really care about the quality of your model to do all that work. Models derived from authority may lack such grounding but they are way more convenient. And convenience is king.