Demarcation
Question Title: What is the problem of Demarcation? State the problem, say whether you think it is important, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of an attempt to solve it.
Word Count: 1,601
Science is generally considered to be the acquisition of knowledge guided by natural laws. The scientific method uses a number of logical steps in order to make inferences about universal truths that follow the method of Induction, an empirical enterprise utilised to establish truth about the universe. These inferences refer to hypotheses and theories made by scientists through observations and experiments (Popper 1963, p.426). This empirical system separated science from other belief systems and human opinions of the world that revolved around religion, superstition and philosophy. Today, beliefs relating to those areas, or any belief that happens to fall outside of the canons of science is considered pseudoscientific. These are usually tradition-bound, superstitious or dogmatic in nature and fail to progress with discovery of new evidence. These fields of knowledge rarely carry out any respectable scientific research and have little or no universally formed hypotheses (Bunge 1984, p.40). This however does not stop these beliefs from gaining a large amount of following and popularity like Creationism and astrology. Lakatos stated that even the most plausible statements can be pseudoscientific whilst the most unbelievable can be scientifically valid, the scientific value of a theory is independent of the impact upon the human mind (1977, p.20). Conversely, not all beliefs or areas of knowledge fall into either science or pseudoscience, some fall into a category of non-science, as knowledge is not entirely black and white, making it difficult to differentiate between what deserves a high scientific status and what should be considered purely theoretical. This is called the ‘Problem of Demarcation’. In this essay I will discuss the attempts that
Word Count: 1,601
Science is generally considered to be the acquisition of knowledge guided by natural laws. The scientific method uses a number of logical steps in order to make inferences about universal truths that follow the method of Induction, an empirical enterprise utilised to establish truth about the universe. These inferences refer to hypotheses and theories made by scientists through observations and experiments (Popper 1963, p.426). This empirical system separated science from other belief systems and human opinions of the world that revolved around religion, superstition and philosophy. Today, beliefs relating to those areas, or any belief that happens to fall outside of the canons of science is considered pseudoscientific. These are usually tradition-bound, superstitious or dogmatic in nature and fail to progress with discovery of new evidence. These fields of knowledge rarely carry out any respectable scientific research and have little or no universally formed hypotheses (Bunge 1984, p.40). This however does not stop these beliefs from gaining a large amount of following and popularity like Creationism and astrology. Lakatos stated that even the most plausible statements can be pseudoscientific whilst the most unbelievable can be scientifically valid, the scientific value of a theory is independent of the impact upon the human mind (1977, p.20). Conversely, not all beliefs or areas of knowledge fall into either science or pseudoscience, some fall into a category of non-science, as knowledge is not entirely black and white, making it difficult to differentiate between what deserves a high scientific status and what should be considered purely theoretical. This is called the ‘Problem of Demarcation’. In this essay I will discuss the attempts that
References: Bunge, Mario. 1984. "What is Pseudoscience?" The Skeptical Inquirer no. 9:37-50. Curd, Martin, and J. A. Cover. 1998. Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. 1st ed. New York: W. W Norton & Company. Hansson, Sven Ove. 2008. Science and Pseudo-Science. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta. Lakatos, Imre. 1977. Science and Pseudoscience. Edited by Martin Curd and J. A Cover. 1st ed, Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. New York: W.W Norton & Company. Laudan, Larry. 1982. Commentary: Science at the Bar - Causes for Concern. Edited by Martin Curd and J. A Cover. 1st ed, Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. New York: W.W Norton & Company. Popper, Karl. 1963. Science: Conjectures and Refutations. Edited by Martin Curd and J. A. Cover. 1st ed, Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. New York: W.W Norton & Company. Ruse, Michael. 1982. Creation-Science Is Not Science. Edited by Martin Curd and J. A Cover. 1st ed, Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. New York: W.W Norton & Company.