Odin11 Posted January 23, 2013 #26 Share Posted January 23, 2013 (edited) Listen,if you cannot see the difference between something that involves actual sciences,compared to a psychic reading,or automatic writing,or a tarot card reading ,I cannot explain it to you ,if you do not have the proper cognitive functions to get it .It's as simple as that . You people PURPOSELY nit pick at everything I say,jjuusssttt to seem oh so cool and intelligent . It's tiresome ,to me,and I assume most people with a brain ,so forgive me if I just blow you all off ... Thanks Translation: I have no scientific evidence for astrology, so I must now play the victim, in hope that people will stop asking me for it. Edited January 23, 2013 by Odin11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted January 24, 2013 #27 Share Posted January 24, 2013 The point was made that astrology does active harm. While I think astrology is undemonstrated and almost certainly working the same way palmistry and other such things work (through the skill of the astrologer in "reading" the astrologee), I'm not sure it actually does harm, nor am I so sure that astrology has the entire burden of proving itself. There are times when particularly gullible people can gain a lot from readings, of whatever sort, when a compassionate reader (and not one just out to bilk money) sees ways to help the person. It can be a way to relieve guilt, grief, irrational fears, and so on. It is for sure that were the entire world to come to practice astrology, that a lot of stupid things would happen, but, then, a lot of stupid things happen anyway. It even appears that Hitler's belief in such things may have helped the allies defeat him, so astrology here ironically did a great deal of good. As for burden of proof, the standard "scientific" line is, "I don't believe anything without good evidence." We know, however, that the universe is bound to have true properties in it that we cannot prove. Goedel's theorems show us that. Now how to maintain balance. Things for which there is no mechanism and where genuinely objective tests produce negative results can be safely disregarded, but not completely. The mechanism may not be needed or may be unknown; the tests may or may not have been complete enough or maybe the tests were biased. I think belief in astrology, then, is certainly incorrect, but disbelief also goes too far. In this case my opinion is that it is all hooey, but I leave that as an opinion, not a belief. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emma_Acid Posted January 24, 2013 #28 Share Posted January 24, 2013 So I'm assuming no-one can offer a scientific explanation for astrology then? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExpandMyMind Posted January 24, 2013 #29 Share Posted January 24, 2013 (edited) Astrology is actually a science ,which involves mathematics ,and planetary influences . It's not like someone holding your hand and saying,I see the letter L name...Larry ,Lenny ...blah blah . It's very different in reality ,which peop le do not always realize ... And I'm realizing i owe a thread a reading......oh my slothful ways.... Astrology is a religion. Just because astrology uses numbers in some way does not make it a science. The Bible uses numbers to estimate the ages of all the people combined, giving us a total number for the age of earth. Is that scientific? Or, rather, does that make it a science? The Three Wise Men also followed a star. Was that then scientific? Astrology is the absurd notion that our lives are somehow predestined due to the day of the year we are born; that our moods and luck and misfortune are all somehow tied to the alignment of stars. Of course it is a religion and most definitely not a science. Edited January 24, 2013 by ExpandMyMind 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Merton Posted January 25, 2013 #30 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Astrology is the absurd notion that our lives are somehow predestined due to the day of the year we are born; that our moods and luck and misfortune are all somehow tied to the alignment of stars. Augustine of Hippo spends a huge amount of space attacking astrology, and I've always tended to recommend him on this subject. One of his arguments was why is it that the astrologer makes such a big deal out of the date of birth? Is not the date of conception the real beginning? The reason, of course, is that the date of conception is hard to know, so using a more precise number helps with the illusion of precision. And, when you think about it, that is really what all the charts and graphs are about -- an illusion that all is very precise -- but then the end product is always vague and subject to interpretation. I have seen charts carry things out to umpteen decimal points, when in fact any engineer knows that a calculation is never more accurate than your least accurate input measurement. I think a similar phenomenon occurs with stock market prestidigitators. These people study sales patterns and parking lot fullness and supplier statistics and employment trends and all sorts of such things, and as a result develop considerable confidence as to how well or poorly a given company is doing, and end up with nothing better than throwing darts. It is an illusion of confidence brought on by doing mathematics with lots of inputs in an essentially chaotic situation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Posted January 25, 2013 #31 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I'll let Wikipedia speak for me... 'Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, and Mayans developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations.' Not science. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWolf Posted January 25, 2013 #32 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Astrology is a religion. Just because astrology uses numbers in some way does not make it a science. The Bible uses numbers to estimate the ages of all the people combined, giving us a total number for the age of earth. Is that scientific? Or, rather, does that make it a science? The Three Wise Men also followed a star. Was that then scientific? Astrology is the absurd notion that our lives are somehow predestined due to the day of the year we are born; that our moods and luck and misfortune are all somehow tied to the alignment of stars. Of course it is a religion and most definitely not a science. Astrology is not a religion, a religion is based on "god" being the center of all things. It is a version of spirituality. Non-religious and religious people use astrology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExpandMyMind Posted January 25, 2013 #33 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Astrology is not a religion, a religion is based on "god" being the center of all things. It is a version of spirituality. Non-religious and religious people use astrology. Religion is not exclusively based around a God. Buddhism is a prime example. Wicca is another. And there are also some forms of Hinduism that do not believe in a creator God. 'Religion is an organized collection of belief systems, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion So, yes, Astrology is most definitely a religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiteMarcher Posted January 25, 2013 #34 Share Posted January 25, 2013 http://www.near-death.com/experiences/articles012.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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