Pseudoscience

Besides religion, there are also many superstitious beliefs that also leads to animal cruelty. There are many superstitious beliefs associated with owls. Romans believed that owls were suspicious due to their nocturnal activities, and they felt that the creatures foretold death such as in the cases of Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar. Owls were burned during festivals and their ashes were scattered in the Tiber River. As time went on, old beliefs gave way to new ones, such as how an owl hooting…

There has been an ongoing debate among academics questioning whether psychoanalysis is a science or pseudoscience. This essay examines psychoanalysis as a science because it influences psychology literature. Secondly, the essay discusses objectives that illustrate that psychoanalysis is a science such as (1) therapeutic efficacy (psychotherapy), (2) observations which are used mostly in case studies and (3) interpretation. Furthermore, it explains how scholars oppose that psychoanalysis is not a…

In the Living on Earth radio segment the host interviews Chris Mooney, the author of the book Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future. The host and Mooney discuses a 2009 Pew Research center poll that found that most Americans don’t believe humans have induced climate change. Mooney argues in the interview — and in his book— that there is a growing gap between scientists and the public. He argues that sciences has been politicalized in recent year, and he mentions…

Public understanding of science is one of the areas used to determine public attitude to science, the reason being that there is a relationship between understanding of science and the attitude to it, “Understanding is a broad term, ranging from an elementary idea of what something means (or how it works) to a deep professional understanding of a concept or construct in the full context of its field. The depth of understanding required for a citizen to be able to follow and participate in public…

In a study, called “Child Fatalities from Religion-Motivated Medical Neglect”, it women and men who assist in birth are not properly trained, and no women can make decisions over their husbands’ choices, no matter what the choice is. (Hall,8) Also, many times, people (children) are denied injury treatment or illness prevention because of this, such as when a child died of pneumonia, whereas another child had already died of the same disease years ago. The couple had clearly chosen faith healing,…

Donna Haraway and Vandana Shiva have argued against the idea that science needs objectivity. Haraway explains that objectivity, “has been used to signify a leap out of the marked body and into a conquering gaze from nowhere,” (Haraway 581). She says that objectivity is the, “transcendence and splitting of subject and object,” (Haraway 583). Their arguments against objectivity look at the role of individual objectivity within science. However, science needs objectivity in order to obtain the most…

Colony: Serenity Aisle Mission Statement: This society was constructed to push humanity to its upper limits of mental and physical capacity. I want people to reach their maximum potential in all possible aspects that they set out to do. We want to have the smartest scientists, the most fit athletes, and the most talented musicians. Each person will have a specialization, but will try to stay above average in other aspects. We basically want to never stop improving. Most citizens will only…

“My greatest unhappiness with most popular presentations of science concerns their failure to separate fascinating claims form the methods that scientists use to establish the facts of nature” (McQuade 402). Fact or fiction, scientists are often quick to announce “fascinating claims” or observations rather than do the work necessary to make them useful. As scientifically opinionated as could be, Stephen Jay Gould’s Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs mentioned three common…

In Bailey’s article, he describes superstition according to early Christian and medieval writers as “a serious error” (Bailey, pg. 633). Through a theological lens, superstition was seen as religion that was “observed beyond proper measure” (Bailey, pg. 633). In other words, there was a great fear of actions that worshiped or had an association with demons. In addition, there was a belief that charms and spells, despite being corrupted means, would have the efficacy to end in real results. In…

Throughout history the concept of the unknow has been contemplated with people wondering why certain events occurred over time. While they sought for answers the notion of witches and witchcraft was brought to light and as a result many individuals were accused and blamed for other people’s misfortune. Thus, causing an era of speculation, accusations, fear, and tension. With all of this in mind, one cannot help pondering whether or not those witches were indeed witches. Or on the other hand,…