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Supernatural (adj): (of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. Something CAN be real and bey

Supernatural (adj): (of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. Something CAN be real and beyond current scientific understanding.

naasking 4y ago
> Something CAN be real and beyond current scientific understanding I think you're reading that wrong. "Beyond scientific understanding" doesn't mean "beyond current scientific understanding", it actually means, "beyond any possible scientific understanding". So a supernatural phenomenon would defeat any possible attempt at characterizing it scientifically.
- jack_pp 4y ago
  Have you considered that you're interpreting it wrong? Go back in time with self-replicating, able to construct themselves to predefined structures, nanobots and you'll have supernatural powers that "violate" scientific understanding of the time. Doesn't mean it can't be explained. It is true hubris and actually kind of sad to think we know all laws of nature and nothing new could stump us and our cherished laws of nature. Also, read my other comments. Science is about explaining the previously unexplainable. So nothing, no phenomena you sense with your senses, is beyond science.
  - naasking 4y ago
    The definition of "supernatural" has nothing to do with scientific understanding at any particular time, it's about whether a scientific understanding is possible even in principle. Deities and souls are not amenable to scientific understanding even in principle, that's why they're considered supernatural. Observed phenomena that defy current understanding don't qualify.
  - epgui 4y ago
    Let's look at the root word. "Natural" does not mean "familiar" or "understood". It just means that it's a part of the physical world we inhabit. Conversely, the "supernatural" is what exists beyond the physical world we inhabit: it's not real by definition. This is all a semantic disagreement and not a question of hubris or overconfidence or of how advanced our knowledge really is.

Supernatural (adj): (of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. Something CAN be real and beyond current scientific understanding.

naasking 4y ago

> Something CAN be real and beyond current scientific understanding I think you're reading that wrong. "Beyond scientific understanding" doesn't mean "beyond current scientific understanding", it actually means, "beyond any possible scientific understanding". So a supernatural phenomenon would defeat any possible attempt at characterizing it scientifically.

jack_pp 4y ago
Have you considered that you're interpreting it wrong? Go back in time with self-replicating, able to construct themselves to predefined structures, nanobots and you'll have supernatural powers that "violate" scientific understanding of the time. Doesn't mean it can't be explained. It is true hubris and actually kind of sad to think we know all laws of nature and nothing new could stump us and our cherished laws of nature. Also, read my other comments. Science is about explaining the previously unexplainable. So nothing, no phenomena you sense with your senses, is beyond science.
- naasking 4y ago
  The definition of "supernatural" has nothing to do with scientific understanding at any particular time, it's about whether a scientific understanding is possible even in principle. Deities and souls are not amenable to scientific understanding even in principle, that's why they're considered supernatural. Observed phenomena that defy current understanding don't qualify.
- epgui 4y ago
  Let's look at the root word. "Natural" does not mean "familiar" or "understood". It just means that it's a part of the physical world we inhabit. Conversely, the "supernatural" is what exists beyond the physical world we inhabit: it's not real by definition. This is all a semantic disagreement and not a question of hubris or overconfidence or of how advanced our knowledge really is.