Induction & deduction

The original korean text: http://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025325919

 

(donga.com's netizen forum, Nov. 11, 2004)

 

Induction is to find a universal truth from individual things, while deduction is to apply the universal truth to individuals. Of course, you know that!

 

Newton's laws of motion are inductive for he got them from the experimental observations. But the world was not that simple. Because the speed of light was constant regardless of the velocity of the light source (or that of the observer). Now Einstein presents the theory of relativity. (Einstein means 'a stone!') This theory can also be referred to as somewhat inductive. By the way, if the velocity of an object is relatively small, this object follows the formulas of Newton. The laws of relativity of Einstein are more general, and the laws of Newton can be inferred from them (in certain circumstances). The formulas of the electromagnetic waves are deduced from the theory of relativity. In other words, the electromagnetic wave is emitted from a moving charged-object, and the principle of the radiation of the electromagnetic wave is the relativity theory. Therefore, if you are still a man of Newton-physics, you have to upgrade your mind to that of Relativity now, otherwise you'll only repeat an ignorant word about electromagnetic wave. When you have accepted the world view of Relativity, you can infer the laws of the moving charged-particles from the theory, then, in the end you can see (academically) the light (the electromagnetic waves).

 

Under the laws of physics and the mathematical probability, many various atoms can never make a unicellular organism by accidental collisions where they are mixed up. Even though, really by chance, innumerable atoms coincidentally collided to form a combination of the structure of a monad, physics and mathematics are not able to give this combination a life. The life is not in the domain of physics and mathematics. Then how can we explain the life in this planet? On the one hand, a living thing depends on the laws of physics, but it, on the other hand, moves with its own will. Now we must introduce an upgraded universal truth to express the life. That is, the idea that a life-thing is the union of matter and spirit. We have to admit that the spirit is a substance which is fundamentally different from the material substance and that this spirit unites itself with the matter into a self-moving life-thing.

 

If the life-thing is the union of matter and spirit, we must admit a pure spiritual being also, because there are pure physical (material) beings (that we can experience). For this reason, Christians believe in God, the pure spiritual Being, who exists himself. Christians believe that the God created the material substance out of nothing, set the laws of motion of the material, and united the material with the spiritual substance, which also he made, to form a living being, a living thing.

 

Thus, Christianity is by no means in conflict with science, and rather illustrates the world rationally, beyond the confined science. Christian belief requires deductive thoughts. The faith is those deductive thoughts. Faith enables you to overcome the imperfect science and to see the world in a profounder (and broader) dimension.