Deriving a statement's scientificness from its claim structure

[kmarinas86]

I decided to look in the book Maitreya by Rael to pick out all the because statements that were in there. Using some trick in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, I managed to find these in a small amount of time. I will show two things here: (1) a group with all the sentences with word "because "in them [190* sentences], and (2) a group with all the sentences which fit category 4 in the opening post (i.e. "revealing" claims which have action verbs in the "because" and "non-because" clauses [15* sentences].

 

* Accidentaly, sentences not ended by a period are not counted. Thankfully, that allows the context of some statements better explained.

 

GROUP ONE

 

That is why its consciousness diminishes and even disappears, because it can no longer feel love.

In fact it would be better to remain just dust if all we are going to do with it is move it about in time and space, because all we do is pollute when we move dust about.

It is a wonderful feeling of happiness because to propagate consciousness in the universe is the most beautiful manifestation of love.

The ground on which I stand can feel nothing because it is not conscious.

We are all traveling together in this infinity in time, and we should feel close to each other, because we are all in the same boat: the Earth.

We sometimes say make love, but this is not quite correct, because its not making love, its playing! We are playing with our hands, our bodies, our sexual organs and giving each other pleasure.

Don't waste even a moment to be happy, because if you put off your happiness for tomorrow maybe there will be no tomorrow! To have a playful mind means knowing how important it is to play.

Let's make our lives into a wonderful game, because our world is a playground.

The reason rich people commit suicide is because some time in the past, they created the illusion that they would be happy in the future, once they had acquired certain possessions.

If we are happy because of something, then it means our happiness depends on something.

Be careful, because if we lose that thing, then we are liable to be unhappy.

Smile, It Will Make You Happier Smile as often as you can, because to smile is just as important as to say YES.

It's because you haven't smiled enough during your life, and the muscles in your face have sculpted it in the expression that you most often put it in.

The right to be oneself Don't waste energy trying to convince others and don't accept that others wish to change you, because you are unique.

If you are happy elsewhere, that is good too, because I prefer you to be happy elsewhere than unhappy with me.

Instead we should say: What could we think of ? because in this way we invite openness to an infinite palette of differing opinions.

There are some men who don't dare go naked because they think their penis is too small.

Have you seen that photo of Einstein sticking out his tongue? I am always wary when I meet someone serious, , because seriousness always is accompanied by stupidity.

People who laugh are often awakeners, because it is more effective to mix teaching with humour.

Smile, because after all, crying will not help anything.

In fact the past contains more negative things than does the progress of the future, because progress ultimately liberates mankind.

Be happy and people will gather around you because they will all wish to be infected and permeated with your happiness.

That is a mistake because it is not time that passes.

We should not only congratulate ourselves when all goes well, or when we manage the expected and unexpected well, but also when, and especially when, we are experiencing failures, because they can help us grow.

On the contrary, they appreciate the unexpected because they know it is a way to make progress in their own self-development.

Managing Our Emotions We are told that we should manage our emotions, however the word manage is not quite correct because it suggests that we allow the emotion to arise before treating it.

So don't be happy because others love you, be happy, and as a consequence they will love you.

And it is important to feel it, because we cannot feel at ONE with others if we don't feel at ONE with ourselves.

Being at ONE with ourselves means being at ONE with the Universe, with Infinity, with all, and also with nothing, because there is no difference between all and nothing.

There is no more distance between you and me than between the atoms and me, because infinity is ONE.

We become small individual bits of consciousness that finally are realising that they are aware, because consciousness is ONE also.

This correct and just thought concerning consciousness does not depend on my presence, because if you are truly conscious, I will be eternally present in you and your descendants, as you will be too.

knowing and having have nothing to do with awakening, but BEING, yes, because it allows infinity to express itself.

His actions are propelled by his urges, and then he is sorry for the consequences cascading around him, because most of the time his words and actions overtook his thoughts.

This person acts like that because he is suffering.

We should feel compassion for such people and give them love because they are not aware of what they are doing, and that is the origin of their suffering.

This is obviously flawed logic, because real wisdom comes with experience as in making mistakes, correcting them, continuing and advancing.

Just feel the moment of each sound, each of which is new, because even if repeated, it will have a different effect each time.

One day, I read this marvellous saying: It is not the person who possesses who is rich, it is the person whose needs are limited, because the more you earn money, the more you could miss it.

But in all cases, what I advise the most is to avoid credit, because it makes slaves of humans.

The more we know, or think we know, the less we really know because it prevents us from BEING.

Why do people participate in so many seminars or courses? To be happy of course, because the goal of every human being is to be even happier! Right from the day we're born, humans are confronted with contradictions.

Around the year 1900, a famous man, whose name I have forgotten, said: It is sad for our descendents because we have already invented everything and there is nothing left to be discovered.

He really believed what he was saying, because the railway had just been invented.

All those against science are hypocrites because they benefit from science everyday without realising it; they don't know how to see and they have forgotten where they come from.

For example, some people would say there is no link between music and chemistry, but they would be wrong, because in fact they are very related.

But we are not quite there yet! Some people claim that because I recommend the world should be governed by the most intelligent, that I want to establish a fascist system, but this is not true at all.

We should force ourselves to at least try it, because as long as we haven't tasted it, we can't say that we don't like it.

Try it; because there is no food on earth that you are not capable of eating, there is no colour on earth that you are not capable of appreciating.

You are alive because one day, your father was inspired with a movement.

Raise your consciousness because that is what will make your life beautiful.

There you are; you just gained one minute, because you were aware of its existence.

There is nobody in the world better than you for that! You, and I insist only you, posses the magic wand that has the privilege and the capability to act on yourself, because only you can change yourself.

I wish the contrary, because what enriches humanity most is what enriches each of us most, that is to say, our differences.

There is violence on earth because I have violence in myself.

There is jealousy on earth because I harbour jealousy in myself.

Accepting ourselves as we are doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to try and improve ourselves, because self realisation and development arise from the action leading to this goal.

Buddhism teaches us how: We don't bathe in the same river twice, even if we dive into the same place, because new water has flowed past, and neither are we the same person jumping in the second time, because we have changed since the last bath, being in constant movement ourselves.

We shouldn't only love ourselves when we are beautiful or when everything is going well, or because we have succeeded, but also when we are experiencing challenges and failures, because they help us grow.

We should even be excited when having made mistakes, because at least here is an opportunity to improve.

And don't forget that we don't always make wonders, sometimes we will produce a pile of ****, and if because of that you get angry, or jealous, it will have been because you were imperfect in your reaction to the unpredictable.

It is obvious that we should not hang any old work of art on the walls of our apartment since some will depress us, and that we are not strong enough to spend time with a negative or violent person, because they will affect and harm us.

Many people become depressed because most of their thoughts are negative.

Just because your thoughts come from the inside doesn't mean they are always good.

I say perhaps because wanting to change them would no longer count as compassion!

They don't dare to do so because they are afraid of the judgement of others.

But one thing is certain, however we live, everyone will die, because life ticks by.

They become worried about being old, but in fact they are no older than they were twenty years ago, because they were already old at twenty-five.

A bonsai can never develop into a full-grown tree because it has already fixed itself so crunched up.

Every second ticking away in our brain is like precious nectar, we mustn't spill even one little drop, because we can never relive each moment, each little minute, after it has flown away.

Everything we use today exists because someone questioned something at one time.

I am one of these abnormals and I think that if you are here among us today, it's because you also wish to be abnormal, and like me, wish to spread love but that is abnormal! And as I repeat to you so often, above all, don't forget to smile; it is an essential ingredient to changing.

For example, if we are sick, tired, annoyed, it is because we have gone past our threshold of tolerance and our nerves can't take it anymore.

It's because we did not know how to stop at the right moment or to say no, or to give ourselves a minute of respite.

Excuses attempt only to put the blame on external causes; they are words we use to justify ourselves because we lacked awareness at a moment in time when we were not sufficiently vigilant.

If we are afraid of not having enough money because we have lost our job and are also afraid of not getting a job, then we will be negative and we will stew in our own fear.

If you imagine that you are a winner, then you will succeed in everything because no obstacle will put you off.

In Zen archery, when the monk aims his bow and misses the target, he does not give excuses such as Its because .

On the contrary, he reaches to his inner self and meditates, because he knows it is simply because his aim was not correct, and tries again.

We can evaluate them to ourselves, but purely with the purpose of improving: Hmm, I can see that my arrow was not straight; it's because my foot position was not right .

That is really difficult for any person, because we so badly want to explain why we are right.

When two people of differing opinion try to use their intelligence to BE right, rather than trying to be RIGHT, then they will always reach a common accord, because there always is one.

I don't feel good because my father abused me when I was young, or because I was raped, or because .

Daniel: Rael, in today's society, people are constantly inciting us to argue and give excuses, because they always need to point out who is in the wrong.

They agree and we conclude the discussion, and I am happy because I think that this time I have succeeded and from now on, they will stop justifying themselves and progress.

But as we part, they add: In fact, it was good that I made the mistake, because it enabled me to learn .

But this is yet another mistake! Daniel: Why, because they started justifying themselves again? Rael: Yes, they found yet another justification for their mistake.

In fact I was right to make that mistake because I learned, they say.

But you said it because it is important for you that others appreciate how good you are, so you need them to know that despite appearances, your erroneous behaviour resulted in something good.

Why do you want others to know that? Is it because you want them to appreciate your qualities? Why? Daniel: Isn't their motivation selfish pride? Rael: Yes, selfish pride, vanity.

We should act in humility, because we are just dust and humility is the biggest ally of wisdom.

AIDS, the wrath of God! What utter stupidity! Sexually transmitted diseases have been killing people for as long as we have been here, not as a consequence of making love, but because they are not using their consciousness.

How misguided can you get? We are all alive here and now, because our ancestors were sufficiently aware to have managed to avoid dying before giving birth to their children.

But if you are looking for a partner because your loneliness is heavy, because you don't feel good with yourself, because life is difficult and sad, then you can be sure that people will avoid you, because they will have no pleasure in frequenting you since you will be too sad and needy.

In fact, that would be our worst nightmare, to find someone else who also has such problems, because one problem plus one problem makes two problems.

Here and now, the present, right away, these are magic words because they allow you to live these moments with awareness.

We all went through that! As we get older, we no longer need cream because we have a beard to hide them instead, but we boys often remain shy! And one day, you meet your ideal partner, just the type that you have in mind.

I don't say opposite sex, because man and woman are not opposite, they are complementary! So that leaves us two and a half billion people of the complementary sex to you in the world today.

Why? because they have their own ideals, and because of their racism, religious fanaticism or hate of sects, they will reject you.

And still you feel sorry for yourselves because you think there is only one ideal partner for you? Of course this is just an arbitrary calculation, but can show you what possibilities are within your reach.

It goes without saying you will need to make an effort, because if you stay at home thinking I will never succeed, I am too shy and inhibited, then nothing will happen, that's for sure! The more you meet others and communicate, the more you will become enriched and the more chances you will have of meeting your ideal partner.

It would be so terrible to think that this could have been the one, but it didn't happen because you didn't give the best of yourself.

Go towards him, and think how it is the most beautiful moment of your life, because the most beautiful moment is always the one we are just initiating, which will prepare the one that follows.

Just observe and feel because sometimes your partner's actions speak so loudly of their love that words are not necessary.

Maybe you will feel awkward because you might not be used to saying it with such simplicity.

I am happy to be living at the same time as you, it is an honour for me to be close to you, because like me, you were created in the image of the Elohim.

Easy! You just say, Beefsteak, and the machine will automatically rearrange the same basic elements because everything, including a lettuce leaf and a beefsteak are composed of the same basic elements to form the beefsteak as you so desired.

The Eradication Of Labour Through Nanotechnology Convention in Geneva, Switzerland 7th October 2001 I have been talking about the eradication of money and labour for the last 27 years, because man is not designed to work.

Some people still mock me when I say this, but laugh now while you can, because it will happen very soon! A New Understanding Of Life Nanotechnology, cloning, access to eternal life, these are all wonderful.

And yet, aren't nuclear, bacteriological and chemical bombs the real dangers for humanity? Why aren't there any ethical committees set up to control production and protect us from these? But instead, if we want to give life to a little baby, we need an ethical committee! No doubt it is because nuclear bombs are not considered dangerous enough, even if they can wipe out tens of thousands of people in just a few seconds, or even obliterate all life on earth.

Though we will soon be exploring this universe, we still cannot call it our own, because although we do live in it, it doesn't belong to us.

Brigitte Boisselier to create the first human cloning company in America? because as The Country of Freedom, you have a Constitution which should be a model for the whole world, and the most wonderful jewel of your system: the Supreme Court, which guarantees the respect of your Constitution and the freedom of your citizens even against your own government and law makers.

In any case, you will only be slowing down scientific progress, which will happen eventually somewhere because, fortunately, nothing can stop Science.

Remember that they may die without a cure because of your own laws slowing down science.

The difference is very eloquent! To keep or gain a post, they will usually just say what the people want to hear, and unfortunately it works! That is how tyrants are elected in all legality, because they are elected democratically.

And if they justify their aboutface though a so-called change in circumstance, it proves that even if they are not complete liars, they are certainly incompetent, because to govern means to foresee, and they foresaw nothing! The people will judge, thanks to democracy and to the fact that their fears are dissipating.

It is the most destructive of all sects because it can carry out brainwashing perfectly legally and it possesses force.

Whether we are talking about political forces, traditional religions or the army, each of these organisations entertain close relations with the press, because it is in their interest to be able to propagate information which suits them, and are quick to set up orchestrated lies, which is another word for disinformation.

Let's talk about the past, because the truth is less disturbing and less to shy away from, for those who directly or indirectly still benefit from these deceptions and swindles, which took place everywhere, even right in your back yard: I am talking about the circulation of false information, that is to say rumours.

They were considered a threat because they increased people's awareness about the reality of their lives and responsibilities.

But we must still remain vigilant; the horror of rumour is still too close for comfort! Just because the methods used are different does not mean that it has disappeared: loss of job, of reputation, denunciations, stealing children away from their families, isolation, defamatory articles in the papers, etc.

The media hardly mentions it, but the rate of suicide, especially among the youth, is getting dangerously high! There are dozens, hundreds, thousands of young people committing suicide every day all over the world because they are unhappy.

I had a lot of compassion for the poor Americans as I saw them on TV saying, It is time to pray, because god is with us in these tragic moments .

But if they convert, if they submit to prayer, if they give money, then leave them alone, because god is forgiving and has pity Koran IX.

In terms of levels of hatred, religious texts are more dangerous than firearms because they recommend their use to kill the infidels .

That's because they don't understand what the words mean, with all their funny sounds and hypnotic atmosphere, so they imagine that what they are saying must be wonderful, deeply spiritual and full of wisdom.

The next day, the child now hardly conscious, is transported to the local hospital where his appendicitis which has become peritonitis because of the time wasted by the magical lamentations, is cut out in emergency.

Unfortunately, many still die, because the witch doctor delay was too long.

Any threat of violence should be punished as severely as the act itself, because to threaten means that the person has already acknowledged that they will resort to violence as a way of getting what they want.

It is a sticky sort of logic because once we have started sliding down the slippery slope it is difficult to stop.

Once we have started, we are constrained to justify the unjustifiable: If we have killed so many civilians until now, then we have to kill even more to justify that we were right, because stopping requires an infinitely greater wisdom than not starting in the first place.

Each one of us is equally close to the Serbs, the Kosovos, the Tutsis or Hutus What is this mental construction that governs the world and influences us so much! I look upon this with deep sadness, because the only acceptable logic for any human being is that of love, humility and non-violence.

Propaganda for violence that will propagate further, because it will come to be seen as the model solution for the whole world.

It will spread among the young generation because it will be the only model that they will have.

We should never kill anybody, because if we can kill one, then we can kill one million.

Love your enemies more than your friends, because they need more love than your friends.

That is the type of love and non violence that humanity needs, because war will never stop as long as love does not replace hate, as long as love does not win over violence and as long as we refuse to accept to offer our left cheek when hit on the right one.

Perhaps that is the most important bit of teaching given to us by the Elohim, because it reminds us that there is no cause in the universe that justifies the life of even one single human being.

For example, if someone told you that to save all of Humanity, you had to kill someone carrying SARS (atypical respiratory syndrome) to prevent them from contaminating the whole planet, then you should not do it! because the first person that you kill in the name of a cause, contains the millions that can follow.

And anyway, most of the time it never comes to that because there are always other solutions.

That next generation promises to be horrifyingly unbalanced because for them who have grown used to seeing it every day, violence will seem quite ordinary.

We can, however, become guardians of peace, because it is good that some people, such as ex-army personnel, guard the peace against unbalanced, mad and violent people, and this not by condemning them to capital punishment, but by healing them.

We humans are the intelligence of infinity, because infinity is stupid and only becomes intelligent through a thinking brain capable of feeling.

The object I am touching right now could contain atoms that might have been part of your ancestors' bodies at some point in the past, but even though their atoms are present, their consciousnesses no longer exist because these atoms are no longer thinking, nor can they feel anything.

This talibanisation of our so-called free and civilised society has as its consequence to make all people think the same, because if we think too differently, then we are considered dangerous.

But on their planet, they live naked, because they can control the weather.

I chose white because it reflects light and shows the symbol well.

We need to educate people not only to respect but also to encourage their neighbour to be as different as possible, because the more people are different from each other, the more humanity benefits.

Perhaps too, it is because they are afraid of dying and so avoid looking face-on at the reality of time that brings them gradually to the end of their lives.

We need to have for our comfort, but we should focus primarily on the being , because being doesn't ever grow around things that we possess.

One million people, who feel so bad that they chose to die because they no longer are .

They are happy because they are squeezing the maximum joy out of this momentary passage that is their lives.

They were unhappy because they didn't have enough to eat; they were cold and had no security at all, no health insurance, nothing.

It was a world of animals, it was terrible, and yet there were very few suicides, because they had an extraordinary faith in the future and the construction of humanity.

And if some try to hinder you by wheeling in the sect label, don't let fear put you off from going on your adventure, it would be such a pity, because if so, there is nothing else left to discover.

Sure, it's risky! But are you sure that you can eliminate all risks if you just stay at home or sign on every week for unemployment benefit? No, because there is still the largest risk of all, and that is the risk of boredom! So bored you want to die.

If you want a risk-free society, then stop kissing people on the mouth, because you could catch something.

We must prepare them for these dangers, help them discover the beauty of danger, because danger is beautiful, it's exciting! Today we have AIDS.

Let's get real! Why are there so many people who go bunjie jumping? Why do so many young people climb to the top of the highest mountains, or sail or surf the biggest waves? because that is the way man is made; man wants to take risks, because we only appreciate life when we are risking it.

And thankfully so, because it would be too depressing to think that we, with all our aggression and lack of love and compassion for others, were the ultimate marvels of marvels or that it were not possible to find a more beautiful civilisation.

And when she meets him, she will have a big smile on her face of course! She won't be hostile, because she had the dream about him and most probably that will lead to a contact.

Of course, she met him because she went looking for him.

There is nothing wonderful about saying, It was meant to be, because that means you have no choice in the matter.

Everyone has accepted this, but it is still good to remember that it was only because the Christians, who are not even a majority on earth, imposed their calendar on everyone else.

I find that quite amusing, because it is the opposite to the end of the world, though it is the end of the way people think about the world.

Both art and science have pure imagination in common, because every discovery, every invention and artistic creation stems from the imagination.

For the moment, the concept of a world without money is still too Utopian, so we have to consider that both money and capitalism are good, because paradoxically, that is the best way to create a world without money one day.

We have to help our society produce as much money as possible because the more money there is, the more it will implode one day.

They could have made us as robots, only able to do good, but if we only do good because we have no other choice, then it is not an act of consciousness.

Within a week the brain was begging the anus to open up again because it was drowning in toxins and couldn't function anymore.

I find this story very amusing, because it illustrates that there is no superiority between the different parts of the body; they are all perfectly inter-dependant with one another.

Our intelligence tests today are not sufficient to detect those with sufficient wisdom to govern us, because the IQ only represents a small part of intelligence.

But who cares! The colonists decreed that all these diverse peoples should live together inside arbitrary borders, containing artificial countries, centered around an all-powerful capital where the inhabitants' lives would be determined, simply because their slight technological disadvantage didn't allow them to repel their invaders in time.

Imbibe well these words! Why? because you still have the purity that they lost.

They lost their innocence because of their culture and especially their crimes.

They were guilty, and feeling guilty makes them lose their purity, their freshness, because they become sour, they become more and more unpleasant, they become deprived of love and gradually, their society disintegrates and ends up by disappearing.

They walked on all fours and were incapable of standing upright, because if you spend all your time on your hands and knees up to a certain age, then you will never be able to walk upright.

If you bring Mozart up with the wolves, despite the genius that he is born with, he will never be able to play the piano, because to create a melody, one needs to have already acquired some knowledge before being able to express one's genius.

Go and explore the sciences, go and explore knowledge, push your children, encourage them, not just to equal the white man, but to surpass him because they are capable and because it is their duty to do so.

If a person killed his wife because she slept with someone else, it's a "good" reason.

300,000 dead at once! Not because they were close to any military installation, but because by carrying out this monstrous act, the American government thought they could terrorise the Japanese into surrendering and accepting to sign a document of defeat to end the war.

Can we call it an act of humanity when someone uses violence to intimidate others into submission as a means to make them obey their wishes? Do such means justify the end even when the end is such a beautiful cause as peace? No! Causes, however much we justify them, are always wrong because they create death.

They risked 20 years in prison, and yet they now number about 600 in Israel, who prefer to relinquish their freedom rather than kill! Their attitude illustrates it is not the fact of being Jewish that makes one guilty, but its more because of lack of awareness, whether they be Jewish, Muslim, American or any other faith or nationality.

It is because there is no love that humanity's chances of survival are disappearing.

And yet, that is our only hope, because love means wanting to give even one's life if necessary, but that does not mean sacrificing any other human life, apart from one's own, for the love of non-violence.

And love starts right here, in your everyday life, solving even the smallest of conflicts with your partners or neighbours; practice love because that is how you will change the planet.

A group of men were condemned by a High Court in Cairo to between one to five years imprisonment because they were supposedly homosexual and this without the right to appeal.

This case illustrates the extent to which homosexuals in Egypt are the victims of discrimination and violence just because of what they are.

There are now five million Muslims in France so one can't forbid Islam, because they could make a lot of noise and damage if they were to react.

It is love that they hope from us, and which they give us, even if we don't return it, because love is to give without expecting anything in return.

 

GROUP TWO

 

Smile, because after all, crying will not help anything.

In fact the past contains more negative things than does the progress of the future, because progress ultimately liberates mankind.

Be happy and people will gather around you because they will all wish to be infected and permeated with your happiness.

The more we know, or think we know, the less we really know because it prevents us from BEING.

They were considered a threat because they increased people's awareness about the reality of their lives and responsibilities.

Any threat of violence should be punished as severely as the act itself, because to threaten means that the person has already acknowledged that they will resort to violence as a way of getting what they want.

Propaganda for violence that will propagate further, because it will come to be seen as the model solution for the whole world.

It will spread among the young generation because it will be the only model that they will have.

Love your enemies more than your friends, because they need more love than your friends.

For example, if someone told you that to save all of Humanity, you had to kill someone carrying SARS (atypical respiratory syndrome) to prevent them from contaminating the whole planet, then you should not do it! because the first person that you kill in the name of a cause, contains the millions that can follow.

But on their planet, they live naked, because they can control the weather.

I chose white because it reflects light and shows the symbol well.

If you want a risk-free society, then stop kissing people on the mouth, because you could catch something.

Of course, she met him because she went looking for him.

They were guilty, and feeling guilty makes them lose their purity, their freshness, because they become sour, they become more and more unpleasant, they become deprived of love and gradually, their society disintegrates and ends up by disappearing.

[cwes99_03]

Very good. Therefore one can say I feel hungry and that feeling can be measured by glycogen levels.

 

I do agree though that something is missing. How do we actually measure the level they feel? It is completely subjective. All you can do is ask them to give you a measurement on a scale and compare it to their glycogen level. Does that mean that the statement is not scientific? I wouldn't say so. The statement is just harder to measure and subject to many more variables than one would like.

 

Of course, context is a major part of this. Some people say I'm hungry, others say I'm very hungry. Their glycogen levels may be the same, but their wording is definitely different. How do we get around this obstacle?

 

How testing for correlates may fail

 

I suppose if you had tons of people tested and report what emotion they were experiencing and compared it with the "needle" then eventually you might develop the belief that you had discovered a physical correlate to the emotion.

 

However without a comprehensive understanding of how the mind worked you could never be that sure of it.

 

I agree. You however do acknowledge that absent other data to the contrary and with a large enough data pool suggesting a correlary, conclusions may and should be drawn, don't you? This has after all been done pretty extensively in recent years using PET scans of the brain.

 

No such thing as a competent judge or authority on the subject

 

The purpose of mentioning this here is to show that interpreting experimental results with 100% accuracy is outside anyone's or any group's ability therefore noone should be deemed "an authority on the subject" such that their conclusions are accepted without question. I am sure many advocates of science would simply attempt to sweep such examples under the carpet and suggest that people trust the claims of scientists and not think for themselves about such issues.

 

I disagree - I think that instead psychologists should simply be presenting their experimental results in the most objective form possible, and not in private langugage, and keep their conclusions completely seperate. If an outside party disagreed with the findings of a psychologist it may be because they realize something said pyschologist failed to consider. Therefore no scientist should ever disregard such disagreement.

 

I would ammend that to say, no scientist should ever disregard qualified disagreement. Of course, simply adding qualified means that nothing gets disregarded out of hand but a quick determination of whether the disagreement has merrit or not may be done rather than a full scale examination of every disagreement.

However, I'm not sure that we had any problem above with 100% assurance.

 

Heresay is inferior to personal experience

 

And even if this system was followed science could never compete with a well reasoned belief set that allowed someone to organize and reason using their own experience to come to the same conclusions.

In summary it is important to realize that first person experiences are what REALLY matter, and that any physical correlates are only signifigant to the degree that they allow you to understand what someone else's first person experience might be. And furthermore, that it is probably very easy for things to get lost in the translation.

 

However, it is not heresay if the person is in an environment where they are being asked to answer honestly in the form of a survey. Survey results are commonly used as scientific data. The data set is required to be of a certain size to draw conclusions of course, but when coupled with a PET scan or a test of physical/chemical response that one cannot lie about (but may be able to fake through extreme thought processes) one can draw pretty good conclusions. Of course, repeated testing on the same survey with the same equipment will do a good job of ruling out liars and fakers.

 

Simply stated, as long as your methods are good, statements such as

"I feel hungry." may be measureable with increased study and technological advances. I would not rule them out as unverifiable or unscientific.