Re: Heterodoxers are crackpots

[Bruce McFarling <ecbm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In the recent flood of posts on heteroxy and crackpottery,
on Sat, 24 Aug 2002 13:34:54 +1000, "John M. Legge"
<jlegge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Fundamental uncertainty requires uncaused causes (in complexity
>terms, a God who throws dice), and making the acceptance of that
>assumption the distinguishing feature of PK economics is closer
>to a religious test than a scientific one, and could make PK a
>very small tent indeed.

I missed this one, but isn't it a doozy?  I had no idea that
this old rhetorical ploy was still lurking around, but then
I suppose every old rhetorical ploy that has ever trapped
everyone is lurking around somewhere.

Fundamental uncertainty only requires unpredictable effects
of causes.  Any collection of evolving populations with
selection determined in part by the characteristics of
the members of the populations and interactions between
those members of the populations will suffice to give
unpredictable effects of causes.  We've had that for
a sufficiently ample number of millions of years on this
particular plot of real estate to count unpredictable
effects of causes as a non-surprising thing, I should think.


--
Dr. Bruce R. McFarling, PhD
Bus. Office 1.72 -- (02) 4348-4078
School of Business
Faculty of the Central Coast
Newcastle University, Ourimbah