Big Bang?

[Cyrus]

jbor at bigpond.com wrote:

> On 30/09/2005, at 3:51 AM, David Casseres wrote:
>
>> The Big Bang hypothesis doesn't infer cause from effect.
>
>
> The syllogism goes like this: the universe (experienced/perceived 
> effect) exists, so there must have been a Big Bang (inferred cause).


Er, sorry, but this is a classic example of the "straw man" fallacy. 
There never was any inferred cause here. The above syllogism is of your 
own devise. The "big bang" theory is not the result of abstract 
philosophizing, but a consequence of space observation. Another theory 
has been proposed, the so-called "steady state" theory, but it has been 
found inadequate.

And, Dave, the verb "to believe" can mean, among other things, "to have 
faith", "to accept something as true", or "to hold an opinion". Using 
the same word with different meanings in the same sentence is also a 
logical fallacy, called "equivocation".

Cyrus