The Demarcation Problem: Defining Science
- Science: A systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge through testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
- Pseudo-Science: Claims or beliefs that appear scientific but lack empirical support, rigorous methodology, or falsifiability.
- Non-Science: Areas of knowledge that do not claim to be scientific, such as art, literature, or philosophy.
The demarcation problem is not just an academic exercise; it has real-world implications for education, policy, and public understanding of science.
Karl Popper's Falsifiability Criterion
- Falsifiability: A theory is scientific if it can be proven false through empirical testing.
- Example: Einstein's theory of relativity made specific predictions about the bending of light around massive objects, which could be tested and potentially falsified.
In contrast, Freudian psychoanalysis is often criticized as pseudo-scientific because its claims are so flexible that they cannot be empirically tested or falsified.
Criticisms of Falsifiability
- Imre Lakatos: Argued that science progresses through research programs with a core of theories protected by a "protective belt" of auxiliary hypotheses.
- Thomas Kuhn: Introduced the concept of paradigms, suggesting that science operates within frameworks that shift during revolutions.
- Paul Feyerabend: Criticized the idea of a single scientific method, advocating for epistemological anarchism.
