Falsification and refutation
A scientific theory, according to Popper, can be legitimately saved from falsification by introducing an auxiliary hypothesis to generate new, falsifiable predictions. Also, if there are suspicions of bias or error, the researchers might introduce an auxiliary falsifiable hypothesis that … Read More
Lakatos on justificationism
According to the scientific “justificationist” method, knowledge consisted of proven sentences. Classical intellectuals (or “rationalists,” in the narrow sense of the term) have accepted extremely varied – and powerful “proofs“, through revelation, intellectual intuition, experience. These, with the help of … Read More
Science and pseudoscience – Falsifiability
The delimitation between science and pseudoscience is part of the more general task of determining which beliefs are epistemologically justified. Standards for demarcation may vary by domain, but several basic principles are universally accepted. Karl Popper proposed falsifiability as an … Read More
Karl Popper’s demarcation problem
Karl Popper, as a critical rationalist, was an opponent of all forms of skepticism, conventionalism and relativism in science. A major argument of Popper is Hume’s critique of induction, arguing that induction should never be used in science. But he … Read More