I wonder what William Safire (NY TIMES)would have to say about the english language, if we defined Astrology as the study of the "lores" of the heavens, and Astronomy as the "laws" of the heavens?

Did Safire write a column about this? Do you think he'd disagree?

Astronomy is the combination derived from Greek aster (star, as in asterix, disaster) and nomos (law, as in autonomous, deuteronomy). The Greek logos is word or speech, and -logy in this case is a suffix applied as "one who deals with".

I once had a nifty conversation with a prize-winning economist (I was his chauffeur, taking him to a university presentation, so I had him all to myself for a bit.) He quipped that the words "economy" and "ecology" were reversed. That the study of self-sustaining cycles in nature is a study of names and nomenclatures only, but that the study of money and markets is a full-fledged "hard science."

He also acknowledged that no one is ever going to pay any attention to his notion.

Silas

So, he didn't understand entymology either? The -nom in economics is the same as in astronomy, it appears to refer to laws, not names.
I can think of two reasons for that!

I'm sure Safire hasn't give this idea much thought.However,I don't think we should be giving Astrology such a "bad rap". Ptolemy
was a believer! I don't think a true Astrologer is really concerned with the "laws" of the universe.Why should we in Astronomy be concerned with how they interpert the "lores" of the universe?
In fact, if we consdider Astrology "Bad Astronomy", then could the Astrologer consider our interpretations "Bad Astrology"?

The problem is that astrology, sometimes, tries to tie in the laws with the lore. i.e. The reason that planet XYZ influences someone is becuase of its gravity or something like that. Basically they are trying to say that the heavenly bodies have some significant mystical impact on us - particularly on our behavior, personality, and our futures.

Besides, remember that the idea here is suppose to be to use the scientific flaws found in such things and use it as a venue to teach what is considered scientifically sound. So, just as astrology, Armageddon could be considered lore and not law, but it still leaves itself a prime canidate for the site. Remember, there are a lot of people who can't seperate the "lore" from the "law". And I think that is why we should be concerned.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: AWright on 2002-10-03 13:12 ]</font>

Darn you! And your cursed little link! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Even as "Lore", astrology has flaws.

Here you have allot of the comforts of a religion without any of the costs. You can get a feeling of purpose, of some direction from on high, as well as some advice on how to live.

But you don't need to sacrifice(literally or figuratively). You don't need to worry about what you believe, how you treat your neighbor, or how to worship. If you don't like what the stars say, wait for the next horoscope and its all ambiguous anyway. Astrology doesnt demand that you supress any natural instincts or spend time doing things you don't like to do. You don't have to worry about displeasing any supreme being. And if you want to believe in a God anyway, fine. There's little the stars will tell you to go against any other religious beliefs that suit your fancy.

Astrology as a belief system is very shallow and superficial. It just tells people what they want to hear. It is just the kind of thing I would go for if I didn't really care about the truth but wanted to believe what made me happy at the moment. Never mind my own long term happiness. Or the purpose I was made for. Or my fellow human being. Just say something nice and/or help me get through the day.

One caveat - I am speaking of modern day horoscope-style astrology. I know nothing of the kind of astrology astronomers of old followed.

Sometimes I ask my Japanese students if they believe in astrology. The answer I almost always get is that they "believe the good stuff, but not the bad". [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] Of course, there may be a little variation on what I think the word "believe" means and what they think it means, but the answer still gives an idea of what their opinions really are.

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...And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. --Sir Bedevere