Q&A: Heart
Heart
Question
Does the Rabbi agree with the claim that the purpose of the heart, for example, is to pump blood? And if so, how would he respond to the empiricist’s claim that this is a claim that stems from belief or an agenda, rather than from objective observation, and that the heart simply pumps blood but that this is not its purpose? Can we infer purposes in nature from observation? Or perhaps in some other way?
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. No scientist makes claims about purposes in the sense of why something was created or what the creator intended. Science does not deal with questions about the creator’s intentions, because it does not deal with a creator. Saying in a scientific context that the heart’s purpose is to pump blood means that in practice it pumps blood. That is the benefit derived from it, but not that this was originally somebody’s intention.
Discussion on Answer
It doesn’t seem like you’re reading what I’m writing, so what’s the point of discussing it? I’m done.
Is there a philosophical way to reach the conclusion that the heart has a purpose?