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Essays on Empiricism and the role of the scientific method
Essay on pseudoscience
Essay on pseudoscience
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The two theories I have chosen to write my essay about include the pseudoscience of astrology and the recognized science of plate tectonics. I will explore the reasons why the first theory is pseudoscientific, and the second is not. Following that, I will argue why these characteristics are acceptable in deciding whether a science is genuine science or a pseudoscience. As described in the text, “people use the term scientific to suggest reliability, validity, and certainty” (370). My thesis is that by using the scientific method, which includes views from empiricists, rationalists, and transcendental idealists, one can accurately determine a science from a pseudoscience.
The theory of astrology is defined as the study of celestial bodies in order to find meaning in everyday life. Astrology is deemed a pseudoscience by many, but some wonder why this distinction is true (Thagard). As explained in our text, a pseudoscience is defined as a belief or practice that is believed to be scientific, but is not based on the scientific method or fact. Barry Beyerstein, author of Distinguishing Science from Pseudoscience, explains a pseudoscience as “traceable to ancient magical beliefs, but their devotees typically play this down as they adopt the outward appearance of scientific rigor” (Beyerstein, 1995).
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As Velasquez explains in his text, “science relies on the inductive method of observation, generalization, and repeated confirmation by new observations” (372). Based on the definition of a scientific theory by its ability to be proven through the scientific method, astrology would be considered a ‘bogus’ science because it is based more on the interpretation and the beliefs of its followers rather than observation and
Willis, Roy. and Curry, Patrick . Astrology Science and Culture. Pulling Down the Moo. (Oxford: Berg 2004)
The demarcation problem in the philosophy of science, which concerns the way one can distinguish science from pseudoscience, remains a relevant debate after decades of discussion among prominent philosophers. Sir Karl Popper, whose contributions to the philosophy of science are likely the most conspicuous, along with many others have tackled the subject from falsificationist and verificationist standpoints. Paul Thagard in his essay “Why Astrology Is a Pseudoscience” proposes a different approach, expressing need in the philosophy of science for an outlook that considers social and historical elements in addition to the scientific method itself. (66) This paper will attempt to articulate Thagard's explanation of his demarcation criterion and his argument for the labelling of astrology as a pseudoscience, and offer justification for accepting his judgements. I argue that Thagard's view most adequately and holistically addresses all components of the demarcation problem, and will defend them against complications that could be perceived to arise from the acceptance of this position.
Natural science is a structured, reasoned, and organised field of knowledge. Through schematic processes, scientific theories are proposed. Scientists impose self-censorship to support the studied ideas. By observation of the natural phenomena, scientists come up with a question. The question is reformulated into a hypothesis that is ‘falsifiable’. Falsifiability opens to a possibility of controversies to the hypothesis. For example, if a scientist question: “Does God exist?” then this question never is a hypothesis because it is an idea that can never be disproven. After selecting a ...
The name ‘pseudoscience’ perfectly sums up what this particular branch of science is about. ‘Pseudo’, meaning false, highlights the fact that pseudoscience is nothing more than a series of claims and beliefs fortified by strong confirmation biases that are presented as science. These claims and beliefs lack evidence and do not follow the correct scientific method (e.g.; double blind-fold).
Astrology is a phenomenon that dates back to biblical days. There is an ancient legend, that Adam received the doctrines and mysteries of astrology direct from his Maker and thus by foreknowing that the earth was to be destroyed first by fire and afterwards by water. (Thompson 17) Astrology has played an important role in our civilization. Starting with Adam and even being present in today’s society. Different civilizations seemed to be practicing astrology independetely. People noticed the Sun in particular had a change on how crops grew. Many people viewed astronomy and astrology as a similar science until the 1500s. People knew by looking at the sun or what the size of the moon was when to plant crops or even when a baby was going to be born. These early astrologers were searching for their place in life. A place where they fit into the universe. They believed that every component of...
In this paper, I will argue that Astrology is not a science or a pseudoscience by critically assessing different points many philosophers such as Paul Thagard, Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn have made on what a pseudoscience is to asses Astrology, which is the study of the positions and relationships the moon, stars, sun, and planets in order to judge its influence on human actions. I will also use examples of past studies that support my stance.
... been the underlying factor in many scientific advancements. Morris believes that, "It is an empiricism which, because of this orientation and the use of powerful tools of logical analysis, has become positive in temper and co-operative in attitude and is no longer condemned to the negative skeptical task of showing defects in the methods and results of its opponents(Neurath68)." The great accomplishments of Brahe, Kepler, Newton and the many others are due to the advancement of scientific empiricism.
When Albert Einstein proposed his Theory of Relativity it was not accepted immediately but eventually over time and after some debate it became a replacement for the idea of physical mechanics formulated by Isaac Newton to explain the motion of large bodies in the presence of gravity. Relativity did not totally discredit Newtonian Mechanics but it did raise new questions and could prove certain things that Newton could not. There were questions, critics, and proponents of the new idea but it came in time and after much debate. Shifting from one theory to another after the original idea has existed and been accepted for so long never sits well with scientists. This same shift of ideas is true for Alfred Wegener and his theory of Pangaea and plate tectonics. Wegener’s theories gave a plausible explanation for the presence of the same species of fossils found on two different continents. His theory refuted the current theory of huge land bridges that connected the continents. This shift from one idea to another, according to Thomas Kuhn, is considered a paradigm shift. Kuhn said, a paradigm is term that relates closely to ‘Normal Science’. Normal science being “research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements, achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time as supplying the foundation for its further practice” (Kuhn p.159). In the sense of scientific discoveries a paradigm is considered an example of a model formed by the theories presented by a scientist. Wegener’s theory of plate tectonics and continental drift is an example of a Kuhn paradigm shift because it took an original idea that was believed to be true and expanded ...
The argument is that some people question why the description of the sign does not fit them. The answer is that there are three parts to the birth chart: the sun, the moon, and the ascendant. The sun (fast) travels through all 12 zodiac signs during the course of approximately a year. The moon (faster) travels through all 12 zodiac signs during the course of approximately a month, and the ascendant (fastest): travels through all 12 zodiac signs during the course of a 24 hour day. Also, a birth chart and interpretation or either a horoscope and compatibility report cannot be accurate for everyone born under a specific zodiac sign unless the astrologer has accurate information about the time of birth, date of birth and place of birth. Sometimes the time is not known and an astrologer will use 12:01 P.M. which, while not as accurate as it should be, will put one as close to the target as possible. Without this information everything one reads about one’s sign anywhere will be generalized information.
Pseudoscience, containing the Greek prefix of “pseudo,” which means fake, can be simply defined as “fake science.” A more concise definition of pseudoscience is, “a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method” (Oxford Dictionary). The claims made in pseudoscience are not supported by evidence found in scientific experiments, and according to Rory Coker, a professor at the University of Texas, pseudoscience shows a complete disregard to actual scientific results yielded from experiments (para 7). Pseudoscience, instead, makes use of witness testimonials, photographs, and ambiguous works of ancient religion or mythology as evidence for the claims made (para 7.) Unlike science, which provides an objective
There are numerous methods in the Astrology field, as per Wiggy Flowers, like Chinese Astrology, Western Astrology, Vedic Astrology, etc.
Science Plate Tectonic Theory Essay Plate Tectonics have always been a mysterious subject to discuss and scientists are looking for facts to prove their own theories. Indeed, scientists today have a better understanding of the Earth's tectonic plates, the driving forces and the cause of their movement, and the ways and connections in which they interact with one another. A tectonic plate is defined as a rigid segment of the Earth's lithosphere that travels independent of other plates surrounding it. There are seven major plates, North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Indo-Australian, Pacific and Antarctica as well as many smaller, microplates such as the Arabian Plate and Indian Plate. Plate tectonic theory began in 1915 and was
Over the course of the years, society has been reformed by new ideas of science. We learn more and more about global warming, outer space, and technology. However, this pattern of gaining knowledge did not pick up significantly until the Scientific Revolution. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the Scientific Revolution started, which concerned the fields of astronomy, mechanics, and medicine. These new scientists used math and observations strongly contradicting religious thought at the time, which was dependent on the Aristotelian-Ptolemy theory. However, astronomers like Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton accepted the heliocentric theory. Astronomical findings of the Scientific Revolution disproved the fact that humans were the center of everything, ultimately causing people to question theology’s role in science and sparking the idea that people were capable of reasoning for themselves.
The three essential aims of science are prediction, control and explanation. However, the greatest of these is scientific explanation. Scientific explanations are nothing but tentative proposals. They are offered in hope of capturing the best outlook on the matter. Scientific explanations however, are subject to evaluation as well as modification. They are valid deductive arguments whose conclusion is the event to be explained. The Scientific mode of explanation is more properly named the nomological-deductive type. It is also known as the DN account. This means that the explanation is deduced from law-like statements (from the Greeknomos= a law). For example, there is the law, or universal hypothesis, that whenever the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon there is an eclipse of the Moon. Thus any particular eclipse may be explained as an instance of that general law. The general rule that provides the explanation is strengthened if it can be shown to be consistent with a more fundamental