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Can Science Test Supernatural Worldviews?
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Can Science Test Supernatural Worldviews?
Yonatan I. Fishman1 
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Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA |
Received: 26 December 2006 Accepted: 23 July 2007 Published online: 21 August 2007
Abstract Several prominent scientists, philosophers, and scientific institutions have argued that science cannot test supernatural
worldviews on the grounds that (1) science presupposes a naturalistic worldview (Naturalism) or that (2) claims involving
supernatural phenomena are inherently beyond the scope of scientific investigation. The present paper argues that these assumptions
are questionable and that indeed science can test supernatural claims. While scientific evidence may ultimately support a
naturalistic worldview, science does not presuppose Naturalism as an a priori commitment, and supernatural claims are amenable
to scientific evaluation. This conclusion challenges the rationale behind a recent judicial ruling in the United States concerning
the teaching of “Intelligent Design” in public schools as an alternative to evolution and the official statements of two major
scientific institutions that exert a substantial influence on science educational policies in the United States. Given that
science does have implications concerning the probable truth of supernatural worldviews, claims should not be excluded a priori
from science education simply because they might be characterized as supernatural, paranormal, or religious. Rather, claims
should be excluded from science education when the evidence does not support them, regardless of whether they are designated
as ‘natural’ or ‘supernatural’.
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