Very late to the party, and having skimmed the other comments...
It seems to me that those people are almost certainly factually incorrect. As with anything, it is a question of probability. There is a vanishingly small but non-zero probability that the laws of gravity will stop working tomorrow lunchtime; that is why science deals with falsifiabilities, not verifiabilities. In this instance, we can check historical records and if >4000 Israelis were found to be working at the WTC and are discovered to have not turned up to work on 9/11 then that would be evidence in favour of our anti-Semite conspiracy loon; it wouldn't be absolute proof that they were part of a conspiracy, but it would be a fair leap if it turned out to be true. People have looked; it isn't true. But even before I checked the records, I'd be highly suspicious of such a claim because of the staggering unlikelehood of such a conspiracy being pulled off. Are they honestly suggesting that no-one before or after the event talked? This is the problem of almost all conspiracy theories.
Regarding some of the comments concerning an objective truth, I believe there is but would struggle to justify it. However, I think Karen's right that we should behave as if there is as the alternative does no useful work. I usually get into that discussion in relation to religion, but I suspect that would muddy the waters even more ;-).
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2008-06-13 02:00 pm (UTC)It seems to me that those people are almost certainly factually incorrect. As with anything, it is a question of probability. There is a vanishingly small but non-zero probability that the laws of gravity will stop working tomorrow lunchtime; that is why science deals with falsifiabilities, not verifiabilities. In this instance, we can check historical records and if >4000 Israelis were found to be working at the WTC and are discovered to have not turned up to work on 9/11 then that would be evidence in favour of our anti-Semite conspiracy loon; it wouldn't be absolute proof that they were part of a conspiracy, but it would be a fair leap if it turned out to be true. People have looked; it isn't true. But even before I checked the records, I'd be highly suspicious of such a claim because of the staggering unlikelehood of such a conspiracy being pulled off. Are they honestly suggesting that no-one before or after the event talked? This is the problem of almost all conspiracy theories.
Regarding some of the comments concerning an objective truth, I believe there is but would struggle to justify it. However, I think Karen's right that we should behave as if there is as the alternative does no useful work. I usually get into that discussion in relation to religion, but I suspect that would muddy the waters even more ;-).