Kant's "A Priori" and Biblical Evidence.

Immanuel Kant claimed that we build our science on subjective ideas, which he called "synthetic a priori." Kant held that geometry, arithmetic and the basic propositions of physics are synthetic. We learn geometry by accepting axioms "a priori" and then building geometric theorems on those propositions. Scientists deductively build their knowledge of the physical world - reasoning from causes to effects, from "a priori" to a structured system. Kant did not reject the idea that we can arrive at some knowledge by experience. We can only see colors by experiencing them. However, each person experiences colors, tastes and sounds somewhat differently. One may even experience the same red color differently at different times. We cannot build a structured science on sensory experiences become we cannot precisely agree on what we mean by the color red or any other sensation.

Modern scientists do not limit empirical knowledge to the senses, as Kant did. They believe that their knowledge is inductive, not deductive. Inductive knowledge proceeds from many facts and measurements toward general principles. Scientists hold that the starting point for scientific explanations is measurements and observations, which they extend with mathematics. They believe that mathematics is analytic, not based on synthetic principles. The modern theory of knowledge generally rejects the Kantian notion that we build our science on synthetic ideas. Thomas Kuhn called such ideas: paradigms - basic faiths about the nature of physical reality. Kuhn, a historian of scientific revolutions, is not popular among scientists.

Was Kant correct that synthetic ideas are the foundation for scientific knowledge? The apostle Paul, in Colossians 2:8, uses the imperative verb blepete - beware, be on guard, watch out. Watch out so that no one takes you captive (sulagôgôn) through philosophy . . . according to the elementary assumptions (stoicheia) of the world. The verb sulagogeo means to lead away as booty, to seduce away from the truth. In Paul's era, the inhabitants of a captured city were sold as slaves. Kant believed that we should think freely. Paul warns that the stoicheia (elementary principles) of philosophy may result in captivity, mind control, inability to arrive at truth.

What kind of synthetic idea from philosophy can take away our freedom to think clearly about the physical world? 2 Peter 3:3 - 6 states that the first thing to know about the last days is that false teachers will obfuscate (lanthano) the history of the heavens and Earth. The false teachers say "panta outos diameni" - all things remain the same in being.

Did scientists build their system of knowledge on the idea that all things remain the same in being, that the essence of matter is unchanging? When the pagan Greeks first tried to invent science, they confronted a difficult problem. The problem was: what if matter is changing itself, changing with age? Over the centuries, several pagan philosophers proposed a priori first principles to solve the issue of matter changing. Aristotle's solution was that we must just assume that the properties of matter are not emergent. Aristotle instructed his disciples to build all knowledge on changelessness, even though none is observed. Fifteen hundred years later, Aristotle's a priori idea was adopted by the Catholic scholastics and became the metaphysic of western science. During these last few centuries, scientists steadily built up their system on the idea that matter is not changing relationally, changing itself, changing as it ages.

Is this idea valid? It is not possible to test this assumption with a circular form of measuring. For example, atomic clocks depend on the idea that atoms are perpetual motion machines. Scientists count 9,192,631,770 microwave pulses from cesium 133 and call that a second. Since seconds are operationally defined, they would still call the cesium count "a second" even if atoms did not do perpetual motion. Clocks cannot compare previous seconds with modern ones. However, we can see billions of distant galaxies shining from the long ago past. Not a single ancient galaxy shines with the same light frequencies as modern atoms. In fact, the differences between local atomic clock rates and ancient ones increases radically all the way back to the beginning of the universe. This is what one would expect if all atoms are always changing relationally. Despite this simple evidence, scientists use perpetual motion atoms to define lengths, forces, velocities, temperatures, gravity and innumerable other units. Even their mathematics and their constants were built on the elementary assumption that matter is not naturally changing itself.

The idea that matter is not changing itself, changing with age, is synthetic. It is not subject to falsification. Indeed, scientists create an invisible universe to preserve their creed that matter does not continually change itself. Many scientists actually believe that a tiny bit of vacuum exploded and created everything out of nothing. They even use mathematics to "prove" that invisible matter is far more extensive than visible stuff. Many scientists believe that the vacuum of space adjusts the light frequencies of all ancient atoms. They even mathematically show that the vacuum of space is accelerating galaxies to close to the speed of light. The scientific universe is 99% invisible. All the invisible things were contrived to protect their a priori idea that matter is not changing with age.

How could they believe in supernatural forces, things no one has ever seen anywhere? Scientific empiricism is only empirical if one protects the historical, foundational assumption upon which the scientific system depends. Even their mathematics depends on the idea that the properties of matter are not emergent. They do not know how to think apart from their dogmatic a priori, that all matter is not changing relationally.

There is one system of evidence that is not based on a priori, yet it is not subjective like bare eyesight. We gather the light from the ancient universe and record it photographically. This allows us to visually compare the spectral signatures and properties of ancient matter with local stuff. No primordial galaxies shine with the light of perpetual motion atoms. How can we be sure that the vacuum of space did not affect the frequencies of all ancient light, so that what we see is not what was transmitted into the void? We actually see the history of the universe unfold, because we also photographically compare the shapes of ancient galaxies with local galaxies.

Here are two similarly shaped (grand design) spirals. The picture shows three views of M51 (the Whirlpool) at three different wavelengths. The Whirlpool covers an area of ~ 12 x 8 minutes or ~ 300,000 square seconds. The primordial galaxy is Hubble Ultra Deep Field galaxy #3031, inserted in the background for comparison. It would be invisible if it were not magnified many times more than the Whirlpool, since it covers only ~ 5 square seconds of our sky. Both galaxies have a smaller companion galaxy. In the case of the Whirlpool, the companion (NGC 5195) seems to have affected the shape of the larger galaxy. The lower end of the galaxy is spread out while the end closest to the companion is more compressed. There are over two hundred close by galaxies with interacting companions with similar shapes. The Whirlpool is shaped like a growth spiral, like a snail that grew that way. http://www.jorcat.com/index.html

The left Whirlpool panel is in visible light (from the Hubble space telescope). Notice how the two major spiral lanes are continuous in gas and dust. The lower arms has spread out into numerous smaller lanes. The Whirlpool shines at light frequencies ~ 98% of those of local atoms. However, the Whirlpool has a discontinuity between the light frequencies from the core and those from the arms. Some astronomers find quantized wavelengths, discrete steps in the light frequencies, coming from its arms.

The middle Whirlpool panel is infrared (from the Spitzer space telescope). Infrared light penetrates the dusty lanes so we see its grainy nature. We see little dense knots of stars spaced out along the arms. The arms are thinner, without their dusty mantles.

The right Whirlpool panel is in ultra violet (from the Galex space telescope). We see the skeleton of the galaxy in ultra violet. Only the equally spaced clusters of active stars shine in ultraviolet.

The primordial galaxy, HUDF #3031, has a similar shape as the Whirlpool, but not as mature. Its atomic light clocks ~40% the light frequencies of local atoms. The arms are made of discrete cluster of stars, without continuous dust between the clusters. An orange sibling galaxy sits at the end of one arm, similar to the Whirlpool. The primordial galaxy has a central bar, but both spiral arms come out of only one end of the bar. The spiral arms have only rotated out about two thirds of a turn. The local Whirlpool has arms that have rotated around one and a half turns. This is characteristic of primordial spirals that have distinctly granular arms that have rotated around less than one turn. In closer spirals, the discrete clusters of stars have spread out, following each other outward in lanes as they became more diffuse.

The Bible repeatedly states that the heavens spread out in unbroken continuity, that the stars continually come out, spread out like a tent. We see a biblical cosmic history because we follow the history of the universe photographically at many ranges and all directions. The properties of all matter are observed to always change. The space matter takes up increases as the stars move out. We see that the inertial properties of all matter change as the stars continually accelerate out in billions upon billions of spiral galaxies as they spread out into huge growth spirals.

What could possibly account for visible galactic history? The Bible clearly states that the creation is in bondage to phthora, fundamental change. We see the past, just as it was, all the way back to the creation era. The visible history of the universe confirms the Bible. We see that all matter is always changing its properties. All atomic clocks visibly accelerate their clock rates depending on age of the transmitted light (distance). When we compare primordial galaxies with later versions at many ranges, we see that the orbits and atomic clocks both accelerate. Visually, the stars came out, spread out, took up more volume as billions of galaxies grew into huge growth spirals. What we see violates every law of physics. These laws of physics were synthetically built on Aristotle's assumption that the properties of matter are not emergent.