SecularCauses wrote:In science, there are rational ways to determine the truth of reality.
Well, kind of, yes.
SecularCauses wrote:And I understand that purists may argue nothing can be known for certain...
Nice of you to observe that.
SecularCauses wrote:...but I hardly think there will be a discovery millions of years from now telling us the earth was flat after all. Science is able to progress because in at least some sense there is a way to discover the nature of the cosmos. We can learn about how we evolved, how chemical reactions occur, what happens when we do certain things, etc. Our ability to use technology is a testament to the validity of scientific achievement.
Yes?
SecularCauses wrote:Now, when it comes to politics, either we are still in the land of something like the field of physics, where right and wrong answers do exist, and can be rationally determined...
Whoa! What do you mean by "right" and "wrong" here, in a political context? Do you suggest that answers to questions like how high taxes should be, can be deemed "right" or "wrong"?
SecularCauses wrote:...or else, we are in a no-person's land where any opinion and idea is as good as any other.
Why do you say that? Just because there is no absolute, ideas and opinions can still have more or less merit relative to each other, depending on perspective.
SecularCauses wrote:If the situation is that one can discern political truth in the same manner that physicists can discover atoms...
What is a "political truth"?
SecularCauses wrote:...then we need to defer to the results of rational scientific methods in making political decisions.
I agree that it's good to get the facts straight first, whenever possible, if that's what you mean. It's no good contradicting a fact with an opinion. But scientific methods can only give us facts to base our political decisions upon. There can be no scientific method to make the actual decisions.
SecularCauses wrote:On the other hand, if science and reason do not apply, then no opinions matter.
Why do you say that? Of course opinions matter. Politics is all about opinions. Science and reason do apply, to some extent, but in the end it's the opinions that matter.
SecularCauses wrote:No one can prove their position is superior to any other and arguments become as pointless as they can be.
You don't need proof in politics. You need to convince people that your opinion is superior, and arguments are not pointless. A good argument is a convincing argument.
SecularCauses wrote:In either case, the arm-chair political opinions are illegitimate.
What do you mean by "illegitimate"?
SecularCauses wrote:Unless someone can point to scentific evidence to support their position, or something very much like it, their opinion is without merit.
To you perhaps. But not to every voter out there.
SecularCauses wrote:Either realism is real or else nothing matters and political knowledge is an illusion and does not exist.
What do you mean by "realism is real"? Sounds nonsensical to me. And what do you mean by "political knowledge" as opposed to general knowledge?