'Thought experiment: Last week I dropped a hammer, it fell to the ground. Today I dropped a hammer, it fell to the ground.
How would you react to someone who said "Last week, the hammer fell because of magic. Today it fell because of Gravity."?
Unless you can provide a good framework with substantive data that fits reality better, it is rational to presume that yesterday's cause an effect is contiguous with today's cause and effect. '
The analogy doesn't hold because in physics hard rules exist. Universality. In sociology you're dealing with a chaotic system where there can be no exact law. What seem obvious one day may no longer hold the second. You can have rules and theorums but they can be discarded sometimes by new paradigms.
'We can talk about 40's versus 60's black poverty more if you like, but I think you'll be on disturbing ground for a conservative... after all, we'd essentially be arguing "Which was better for Black America economically, Civil rights? Or the New Deal?" ;)'
If only the New Deal was actually responsible for prosperity... ;)
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How would you react to someone who said "Last week, the hammer fell because of magic. Today it fell because of Gravity."?
Unless you can provide a good framework with substantive data that fits reality better, it is rational to presume that yesterday's cause an effect is contiguous with today's cause and effect. '
The analogy doesn't hold because in physics hard rules exist. Universality. In sociology you're dealing with a chaotic system where there can be no exact law. What seem obvious one day may no longer hold the second. You can have rules and theorums but they can be discarded sometimes by new paradigms.
'We can talk about 40's versus 60's black poverty more if you like, but I think you'll be on disturbing ground for a conservative... after all, we'd essentially be arguing "Which was better for Black America economically, Civil rights? Or the New Deal?" ;)'
If only the New Deal was actually responsible for prosperity... ;)