How Do You Answer A "Why" Question?

[JIMINZ]

It implies purpose. The why question, asks what the purpose is. It is loaded. It assumes there is a purpose to even ask about.

The child asks the WHY question to gain knowledge about his environment, a child is ignorant, and simply needs to fill that void of understanding.

The child is asking What Magnetism is, not realizing there is a purpose.

The adult in answering the question assumes the child is asking the HOW question and answers accordingly, because he already knows the answer.

A child has no ulterior motive, there aren't and And's, If's, But's, or Wherefore's, it's the simple quest for knowledge.

 

[Justatruthseeker]

It implies purpose. The why question, asks what the purpose is. It is loaded. It assumes there is a purpose to even ask about.

There is, else there would be no magnetic field to discuss. The purpose in your viewpoint would be randomness made into order.

Why does it assume a purpose?

Notice I am NOT assuming you have a purpose, just seeking the answer to why...

No.
When your question is about how something works, then you might use the word "why", but you really mean "how".

Agreed, the two can be used synonymous. So the why is why do magnets stick together or repel depending on orientation. The answer is magnetic fields. Then we ask the how do magnetic fields stick magnets together or repel them depending on orientation.

In order to ask the how, I must first assume the why has been answered, magnetic fields..... Unless we both agree on the why, a search for the how may not concern magnetic fields at all. In fact their would be no theory to start asking how....

Why, in the sense of purpose/intent, is only valid after you actually establish that there is such a thing in that context.

Agreed, and we have already established that there is such a thing as magnetic fields causing magnets to attract or repel....

If the question is about the underlying mechanics, then you are asking a "how" question.

How what? What is the how until we first establish the why answer of magnetic fields???? Once we establish that it is magnetic fields, then we ask "how" do magnetic fields do this.

 

[Justatruthseeker]

The child asks the WHY question to gain knowledge about his environment, a child is ignorant, and simply needs to fill that void of understanding.

The child is asking What Magnetism is, not realizing there is a purpose.

The adult in answering the question assumes the child is asking the HOW question and answers accordingly, because he already knows the answer.

A child has no ulterior motive, there aren't and And's, If's, But's, or Wherefore's, it's the simple quest for knowledge.

Agreed. That's because as I have tried to explain to them.... How what? What is the how until we first establish the why answer of magnetic fields???? Once we establish that it is magnetic fields, then we ask "how" do magnetic fields do this. and then start putting in the AND's, BUT's, IF's and WHEREFORE's.... But until we know the why, the cause, the how can not be answered.....

 

[DogmaHunter]

The child asks the WHY question to gain knowledge about his environment, a child is ignorant, and simply needs to fill that void of understanding.

The child is asking What Magnetism is, not realizing there is a purpose.

The adult in answering the question assumes the child is asking the HOW question and answers accordingly, because he already knows the answer.

A child has no ulterior motive, there aren't and And's, If's, But's, or Wherefore's, it's the simple quest for knowledge.

Children are ignorant, yes.
Adults are ignorant to. And like children, adults want to fill that void as well.

It's human nature to be bothered when not understanding something one wishes to understand. What happens next, is the important bit.

The phrase "god is a an ever-receeding pocket of scientific ignorance", comes to mind.

 

[DogmaHunter]

There is, else there would be no magnetic field to discuss. The purpose in your viewpoint would be randomness made into order.

No.

Purpose in the sense of pre-planned intent.

"Why did the window break?"
If you are looking for an explanation of what exactly happened that caused the window to break, you are really talking about "how".

If however you are assuming the window broke for some specific cosmic purpose - regardless of causal physics - then you are making assumptions of purpose / intent.

Agreed, the two can be used synonymous. So the why is why do magnets stick together or repel depending on orientation. The answer is magnetic fields. Then we ask the how do magnetic fields stick magnets together or repel them depending on orientation.

Simply saying "magnetic fields" is a non-answer unless you also explain how exactly that works, what magnetic fields are and how the underlying physics do what they do.

We're still in the "how" zone.

In order to ask the how, I must first assume the why has been answered, magnetic fields..... Unless we both agree on the why, a search for the how may not concern magnetic fields at all. In fact their would be no theory to start asking how....

You make no sense. You don't start with "magnetic fields". You don't come up with "magnetic fields" unless you understand/discover what magnetism is first. Again... we're still in the "how zone".

Agreed, and we have already established that there is such a thing as magnetic fields causing magnets to attract or repel....

Magnetic fields are produced by magnetism. Which is neither a purpose nore an intent.

How what? What is the how until we first establish the why answer of magnetic fields????

You don't come up with "magnetic fields" without the how of magnetism.
Without knowing what magnetism is, you don't know what magnetic fields are.

Once we establish that it is magnetic fields, then we ask "how" do magnetic fields do this.

Chicken before the egg.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Agreed. That's because as I have tried to explain to them.... How what? What is the how until we first establish the why answer of magnetic fields???? Once we establish that it is magnetic fields, then we ask "how" do magnetic fields do this. and then start putting in the AND's, BUT's, IF's and WHEREFORE's.... But until we know the why, the cause, the how can not be answered.....

Again, this makes no sense.

"magnetic fields" is just shorthand for magnetism.

 

[JIMINZ]

Children are ignorant, yes.
Adults are ignorant to. And like children, adults want to fill that void as well.

It's human nature to be bothered when not understanding something one wishes to understand. What happens next, is the important bit.

The phrase "god is a an ever-receeding pocket of scientific ignorance", comes to mind.

.
That is a rather derogatory statement to make about my God.
I personally do not feel as though that particular statement actually needed to be voiced.

You can chose to not believe in Him, but when you have such a compulsion to bad mouth Him, somewhere deep inside of you, there is a belief He does in fact exist, otherwise you would not not acknowledge His existence.

 

[JIMINZ]

Chicken before the egg.

God Created the Chicken, which laid the egg.

How would an egg have evolved into an egg?

 

[DogmaHunter]

.
That is a rather derogatory statement to make about my God.

It isn't meant to be. It's an objective evaluation of historic religious beliefs.
Gods are historically responsible for everything that humanity didn't understand.
As human knowledge progress, gods' role in reality became smaller and smaller and smaller.

Gods used to be responsible for just about everything. Tides, sea storms, thunder, lightning, sunrise, sunset, solar eclipses, earthquakes, volcano's, fortune, biological diversity, planets,...

You know this is true and accurate. I don't see the point of trying to deny that.
You can't really deny that throughout the ages, that has exactly been the trend...
Gods were used to stuff just about every hole in knowledge and as we learned more and progressed, we pulled the gods out and stuffed the hole with actual explanations.

Not once in the entire history of humand kind, did the supernatural explanation turn out to be the correct one. Not once.

Do you deny this?

I personally do not feel as though that particular statement actually needed to be voiced.

I do. Because imo, exactly that is at the very core of the invalid "why" question.
So much so, in fact, that generally, only theists will ask that question. Because they have that base assumption that's required for that question: that there is "cosmic" intent and purpose in the world, which objectively exists outside of our heads.

You can chose to not believe in Him, but when you have such a compulsion to bad mouth Him, somewhere deep inside of you, there is a belief He does in fact exist, otherwise you would not not acknowledge His existence.

I acknowledged that people believe in gods. Which is not the same thing.

 

[DogmaHunter]

God Created the Chicken, which laid the egg.

How would an egg have evolved into an egg?

Good job missing the point there.

 

[JIMINZ]

Good job missing the point there.

.
No, I think the point was made.

God created the chicken, and the chicken laid the egg, your assumption of an unanswerable question was incorrect at best.

 

[DogmaHunter]

.
No, I think the point was made.

God created the chicken, and the chicken laid the egg, your assumption of an unanswerable question was incorrect at best.

No, you're missing the point.
The point wasn't about chickens or eggs. It's an expression.

 

[JIMINZ]

No, you're missing the point.
The point wasn't about chickens or eggs. It's an expression.

.
Oh excuse me, your now saying you made a statement which had absolutely no point to it?......Why would you do such a thing?...You did have a point didn't you?

My point was, God Created the chicken and the chicken laid the egg, therefore the expression as you call it really does not make any sense at all now does it?

Oh well such is life.

 

[DogmaHunter]

.
Oh excuse me, your now saying you made a statement which had absolutely no point to it?......Why would you do such a thing?...You did have a point didn't you?

There was a point. But as said, you missed it.

The point was about how one can't have knowledge of "magnetic fields" before knowing what magnetism is, like that poster was suggesting.

Did you even read the post?

My point was, God Created the chicken and the chicken laid the egg, therefore the expression as you call it really does not make any sense at all now does it?

Oh well such is life.

So not only did you miss the point I was making, you're also missing basic knowledge of biology.

 

[JIMINZ]

There was a point. But as said, you missed it.

The point was about how one can't have knowledge of "magnetic fields" before knowing what magnetism is, like that poster was suggesting.

Did you even read the post?



So not only did you miss the point I was making, you're also missing basic knowledge of biology.

Do you mean I forgot about the lack of a Rooster?

No not at all, God Created male and Female Created He them, it would be kinda pointless to Create a species that would go extinct because, it was the only one.

Although it is not necessary for a Rooster, in order for a Chicken to lay eggs.....to eat.

When they went two by two into the ark, it was because there has to be the two, Male and Female to reproduce.