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b-hebrew - Re: Alma, Parthenos, Virgin

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  • From: "Stephen C. Carlson" <scarlson AT mindspring.com>
  • To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Alma, Parthenos, Virgin
  • Date: Sat, 30 Oct 1999 08:46:41 -0400


At 10:16 PM 10/29/99 -0700, Ken Litwak wrote:
>Joseph Crea wrote:
>> At 04:56 PM 10/29/99 -0700, kdlitwak wrote:
>> >There are two large methodological problems with the following:
>> >
>> >1. Don't we all know that arguments from silence are completely invalid?
>>
>> CREA
>> Are you arguing for the INvalidity of Modus Tollendus Ponens or that
>> "denying the consequent" carries no weight? If I were to claim to have had
>> an appendectomy and can produce no evidence whatsoever of abdominal
>> scarring consistent with customary surgical procededures, such lack
>> definitely falls into the category of an "argument from silence", but is is
>> hardly invalid or non-evidential.
>
>I am arguin taht a statement like" Paul did not know of the virgin
>birth" is not a meaningful argukent for naything.

I think this is a case where the original statement "arguments from
silence are completely invalid" was too broad, because there are valid
and important arguments from silence, e.g. the dog that did not bark
in the Sherlock Holmes story. In the particular case of Paul, however,
I would tend to agree that Paul's silence does not carry much weight in
this instance.

Stephen Carlson
--
Stephen C. Carlson mailto:scarlson AT mindspring.com
Synoptic Problem Home Page http://www.mindspring.com/~scarlson/synopt/
"Poetry speaks of aspirations, and songs chant the words." Shujing 2.35




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