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Knowledge claims
Concepts beliefs hold as true.
Religion is a closed belief system - Horton
The truth claims of religions cannot be refuted as it doesn't operate by presenting evidence to be challenged
Azande witchcraft & self-sustaining techniques - Polyani
Used this to show how belief systems have 3 self-sustaining techniques:
Circularity
Subsidiary explanations
Suppression of rival conceptions
Self-sustaining techniques: 1. Circularity - Polyani
If someone suffers a snake bite and thinks they're a victim of witchcraft, the prince's diviner feeds a magic potion to a chicken, it dies to prove it's witchcraft (because it's happened before).
Self-sustaining techniques: Subsidiary explanations - Polyani
e.g if the chicken didn't die, it means the potion wasn't good.
Self-sustaining techniques: Suppression of rival conceptions
e.g there's no evidence of natural causes of the snake bite because all previous evidence shows the use of witchcraft.
Science and Religion aren't incompatible - Gould
Religion's purpose is to explain subjective matters i.e morality because what is morally right/wrong is the result of belief, not scientific evidence. Only science can explain the natural world because of it's theories of evolution. Gould is a scientist.
