Ridecamp: Re: [RC] [RC] Critical Thinking/The six rules of evidential reasoning /was pet communicators

> Even researchers that have gone down in history are guilty of these
actions.
> Carl Jung was big on anecdotal evidence and a lot of his work boiled down
to
> "It is this way because I think it is.", and he'd quote anecdotes to
support
> it, without doing actual controlled studies.

Just a couple of points here...  First of all, you are correct that we don't
"know" until we have done controlled studies.  But anecdotal evidence is
VERY important because it often shows us in what direction we should be
looking.

> Finally, I have no doubt that if a religious person is aware that people
are
> praying for him/her, it is comforting. And a comfortable patient is more
> likely to see progress than a worried, stressed one. But does the prayer
> itself have a mystical effect? Absolutely not. Its value is in the
emotional
> reassurance provided by the patient's loved ones - which *is* highly
> important to an individual's well-being and recovery.

Certainly there is merit in the idea that reducing one's stress level is
beneficial, no matter what the means.  As to prayer having a mystical
effect?  "Absolutely not" is not a very good or very scientific answer.  The
right answer is--"we don't have enough evidence to know."  75 years ago,
people answered the question "can atoms be split?" by saying "absolutely
not."  We know better now, as we do about a great many things.  The
intricacies of brain chemistry have shown us things that would have been
answered "absolutely not" just 30 years ago.  Never say never....

Heidi


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