(May 20, 2015 at 10:33 am)Jörmungandr Wrote: Normally, the supernatural is designated as that which can't be explained by natural means. The unknown is that which hasn't been explained by natural means. How do you differentiate between that which hasn't been explained, from that which cannot be explained, in the here and now. In other words, what is the supernatural and how do you identify it, as opposed to simply "the unknown" ?
That's precisely why I think the term is entirely useless and is really just used to justify beliefs. To prove that something is supernatural as opposed to unknown, one would have to identify the mechanisms behind that something. Once you do that, does it not then become natural?
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
