Posted on March 22, 2006
The question-and -answer portion of Monday night’s philosophy lecture was cut short after a number of faculty members pressed the speaker, Jude Dougherty, about his lecture — “The Use and Abuse of Metaphor in Scientific Explanation.”
During the lecture, Doherty said metaphor may be helpful to the lay person for grasping a difficult concept, but that the metaphor must not be mistaken for the actual theory in scientific explanation, as is often the case.
Dougherty, dean emeritus at the Catholic University of America, spoke to a full classroom of students as part of an ongoing lecture series on Western philosophy sponsored by Phi Sigma Tau, JMU’s philosophy honors society.
Dougherty’s lecture described how analogies and metaphors are often used to explain scientific phenomena but often only succeed in creating further confusion.
“We read of anti-matter, drops of electricity, black holes, backward causation, strong locality, and I haven’t even mentioned string theory,” Dougherty said. “What, if anything, is conveyed by these terms?”
Dougherty’s solution to this problem called for detailed explanation to replace colorful metaphor, but if a metaphor cannot be abandoned when explaining something, placement of the metaphor into the correct context is essential for providing its meaning.
Dougherty also spent a portion of his lecture on another topic — the true essence of human nature.
He described human nature as “the proper object of philosophical inquiry,” and said that it was not connected with our organic being.
Senior Sarah Marshall, secretary of Phi Sigma Tau ,agreed with Dougherty’s description of human nature.
“There is a whole other element of consciousness and perception that can’t be explained by sheer neurology,” Marshall said.
Dougherty’s assertion that nothing new has been learned about human nature since the writings of classical philosophy drew the most heated debate during the question-and-answer session following the lecture.
When confronted by a JMU faculty member about the existence of scientific hypotheses that are attempting to explain human nature, Dougherty inquired about the “cash value” of such data.
Another question was whether or not metaphor can be useful in helping theists, or someone who acknowledges the existence of a deity, to appreciate the value of science and vice versa. Dougherty advised the audience to distance themselves from those who do not appreciate science.
The session was cut short by senior Tyler Burton, a member of Phi Sigma Tau, shortly after Dougherty asked one inquisitive audience member if he would like to stand up and give the lecture instead.
Despite the debate, Dougherty shook hands with the audience member before moving on to the lecture’s reception.
The next lecture in the series will be held Wednesday, March 28 in Taylor Hall, room 405 and will focus on the nature of the human mind.
