(April 8, 2016 at 3:46 pm)Esquilax Wrote:(April 8, 2016 at 2:16 pm)AAA Wrote: Transitioning from one to the other would require invoking many enzymes that we have no idea if they ever existed. It IS speculative. It is speculation based on observation, but it is speculation none the less. Why not speculate and say that the more complex ones have degraded and lost components to become the less complex ones?
Speculation based on observation is a thing we call "probabilistic inference," and it's a cornerstone of scientific epistemology. You make an observation or series of observations, and then you base your conclusions on those, once you've tested for contaminating factors and so on... how else do you think science forms its conclusions?
I agree that speculation is important in science, but don't lump your speculation in with the empiricism that we agree should lead the way.