Philosophy of Science - Demarcation & Falsifiability (Ch I)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the notes on the demarcation problem, falsifiability, and related critiques.

Demarcation problem

The philosophical question of how to distinguish science from pseudoscience; how to draw the boundary between the two.

Pseudoscience

A discipline that pretends to be scientific but fails to meet key empirical standards, such as falsifiability or testable predictions.

Falsifiability

The property that a theory could, in principle, be refuted by observation or experiment; central to Popper’s demarcation criterion.

Refutation / falsification

The process of showing a theory to be false through disconfirming evidence or predictions.

Corroboration

Support for a theory arising from favorable, risky tests; not the same as proof.

Verifications

Claims by proponents that support a theory; contrasted with falsifications in Popper’s framework.

Unfalsifiable claim

A claim that cannot, even in principle, be shown false by any possible observation.

Falsifiable claim

A claim that could be negated by a possible observation, hence testable.

Einstein’s relativity

Relativity theory used as a falsifiable example; its light-deflection prediction was tested in 1919 (Eddington) and supported.

Drowning-child analogy

Popper’s illustrative case showing that scientific theories must make explicit, testable predictions rather than rely on after-the-fact confirmations.

Ad hoc hypothesis

An auxiliary assumption added to rescue a theory from refutation, often criticized for weakening explanatory power.

Pigs can’t fly

A falsifiable claim used to show how a priori conditions can be defined to make a claim testable.

Nothing travels faster than the speed of light

A falsifiable claim that could be disproven by finding faster-than-light travel; used to illustrate Popper’s point about testability.

Pseudoscience (astrology)

Astrology as an example of a pseudoscience: claim of predictive power but lacking robust, progressive empirical support.

Homeopathy

A medical system claimed to act via non-physical (soul) mechanisms; widely deemed pseudoscientific due to lack of empirical support.

Creation science

Attempts to frame religious creation narratives as science; a central case in demarcation debates.

Overton v. Arkansas / Arkansas Act 590

1981 case and law mandating equal time for creation science and evolution; ruled that creation science isn’t science for public-school curricula.

Eddington solar eclipse (1919)

Tests of light deflection by gravity during a solar eclipse, providing empirical support for Einstein’s relativity.

Thagard’s demarcation criteria

A framework requiring testability, a community of practitioners, and a historical record of successes/failures for a theory to be scientific.

Thagard’s relative progressiveness

Criterion that labels a theory pseudoscientific if it is less progressive and less responsive to anomalies than alternatives.

Laudan’s piecemeal approach

Strategy to judge claims individually on the basis of evidence rather than relying on broad, global demarcation rules.

Ambiguity of falsifiability

The problem that falsifiability can be read as either a logical property or a guideline for scientists’ conduct.

Pseudosciences make falsifiable claims

Critique that many pseudosciences do make testable claims, complicating a simple true/false separation by falsifiability alone.

Precession of the equinoxes

Slow shift in the orientation of Earth’s axis affecting zodiac positions and challenging some astrological claims.

Biorhythm theory

Thagard’s example of a theory linking personality to birth-day rhythms; used to critique lack of progress and absence of viable alternatives.

Demarcation problem

The philosophical problem of distinguishing science from pseudoscience and deciding which disciplines deserve to be considered scientific.

Falsifiability

The property of a theory that makes it possible for an observation or experiment to show it is false; used by Popper as a criterion for scientific status.

Pseudoscience

A field that pretends to be scientific but lacks genuine testability or openness to refutation; may make falsifiable claims but fails to meet scientific standards.

Refutation

The process by which empirical evidence contradicts a theory, potentially leading to its rejection as false or unscientific.

Verification vs. falsification

Verification is confirming a theory through supportive observations; falsification is testing whether a theory can be refuted; Popper emphasizes falsification over verification.

Einstein’s relativity (falsifiability example)

A scientifically robust theory whose bold prediction (light bending near the Sun) could be tested and was supported by observation, illustrating the falsifiability criterion.

Unfalsifiable claim

A claim that cannot be contradicted by any possible observation (e.g., “The universe was created five minutes ago” with evidence always compatible with that claim).

Falsifiable claim

A claim for which there exists some possible observation that could prove it false (e.g., “Smoking causes lung cancer”).

Ad hoc hypothesis

An extra hypothesis added to a theory to patch a gap or anomaly rather than deriving from the theory’s core principles.

Creation science

Efforts to present creationism as science; often cited as lacking robust falsifiability, though some of its specific claims are testable and have been falsified.

Overton Arkansas case

1981 case where creation science was ruled religion in disguise and not science; discussed in debates about demarcation and falsifiability.

Laudan’s piecemeal approach

A stance that demarcation should be evaluated case by case by weighing evidence for and against particular claims rather than seeking a universal criterion.

Popper’s criterion (necessary and sufficient)

The claim that a discipline is scientific if and only if it makes falsifiable claims; all falsifiable claims are scientific, and all unfalsifiable claims are not.

Common misunderstandings of falsifiability

Misconceptions such as equating falsifiability with truth, or thinking that any conceivable refuting observation guarantees falsification.

Thagard’s relative progressiveness

A demarcation criterion where a theory is pseudoscientific if it is less progressive than alternatives over time and the community does not pursue problem-solving.

Resemblance-based reasoning

A critique (by Thagard) of pseudoscience where conclusions rely on superficial similarities rather than rigorous causal testing.

Astrology as pseudoscience (Thagard’s view)

An example argued to be pseudoscientific due to little explanatory progress, ignoring alternatives, and reliance on vague or superficial reasoning.

Precession of the equinoxes

A real astronomical phenomenon used to illustrate anomalies that challenge simplistic astrological claims and highlight the need for robust explanations.

Progress, alternatives, and demarcation

A key issue in evaluating science: theories should be compared with alternatives, and progress toward better explanations is expected; lack of alternatives can complicate demarcation.