Debating with the Tin Woodman of Oz

Part of an ongoing discussion of final versus mechanical causes:

Dr. Andreassen says:  “Mr Wright’s contention, if I understand it correctly, is that we can directly perceive that these things are not atoms; it is, to coin a phrase, obvious.”

That is not my contention. My contention is this:

There are two kinds of statements.

Empirical statements are statements of physical fact, without any interpretation. They are statements about objects.Rational or ideal statements are statements about...