Pseudoscience

In Bantam's Elizabethan Star Wars: Superstition and Supernatural, Bantam analyzes the extent to which superstitions influenced people's lives in Elizabethan England. Superstitions substituted rationalization with unexplainable myths that society would abide by and deem infallible; the underlying cause of superstitions derives from its use as moral mitigation and a way to recompense for malice without confronting their own errors. Every aspect of their life was tainted with magic- the spilt milk…

For many years scholars were convinced that the leaps and bounds being made in the fields of science and technology would slowly cause belief in the supernatural to decrease, but it has persisted despite scientific and technological advancements. In fact, according to a study conducted in 2005 “[a]bout three in four Americans profess at least one paranormal belief” between the years 2001 and 2005 the percentage of those that hold various paranormal beliefs has remained the same or slightly…

What is of greater value; scientific knowledge, or metaphysical beliefs? Science and metaphysics, or pseudoscience, are two different things that help us develop better understandings of the world around us. Should one hold more value than the other? Is there a scientific explanation for the human condition? Can science tell us our purpose in life? Is it foolish for an educated person to place their beliefs into myth? Where should we look for the meaning of human existence? Some of these…

The Pseudoscience of Conversion Therapy RaeLynn Barott Minnesota State University, Mankato The Pseudoscience of Conversion Therapy Conversion Therapy, or Reparative Therapy, includes therapeutic efforts to change an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression (Jadwin-Cakmak, 2015). These therapeutic efforts are intended to stop an individual from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) based on the premise that being LGBT is a psychological…

The demarcation problem between science and pseudoscience is one of the Gordian knot problems in the field of philosophy of science. Several proposals have been made in this regard. Karl Popper proposes a ‘falsification principle’ that aims to test the scientific status of a theory. Kuhn has brought forward a claim against this principle that it is only applicable to occasional revolutionary parts rather than the most part of science. However, another attempt has been made by Lakatos in which a…

Distinguishing science from non-science or religion is generally a simple matter, as the two generally make no claims to be scientific. When they do make claims of being scientific, they become pseudoscience. Even so, it is useful to recognize the distinctions, as science doesn’t always specifically declare itself as such. For the boundary between science and religion, the verificationistic view works quite well in the majority of cases. Science deals primarily with empirical matters, while…

scientific method is now a necessary tool in order to distinguish between pseudoscience and science. For the duration of this paper I will examine the Childbed Fever case and critically examine the scientific approach taken with this case in order to avoid the original pseudoscience that occurred which will lead into the pseudoscience that was accepted before science occurred, which will then be provided with another example of pseudoscience. ChildBed Fever is an epidemic that took place in…

between science and pseudoscience. Despite the substantial efforts putting into the demarcation problem, none of those well-known demarcation criteria successfully classify science or pseudoscience. The failure to provide a universally accepted demarcation, or at least gain acceptance from a majority of the community, leads to two assumptions: the unique features shared by all sciences are not yet found; alternatively, there is no such criteria distinguish science and pseudoscience, therefore,…

but it was not the real science nor did he know how it worked. Pseudoscience for Sagan got in the way of people understanding real science. He tries to give examples of what he thinks is general understanding of science. In the first chapter of The Demon-Haunted World, portrays how people have now become more scientifically illiterate during the twentieth century which lead to an entirely ignorant society. For Sagan pseudoscience…

A pseudoscience an idea that is an idea that is mistaken for being true or scientific fact. Because it cannot be explained does not mean that it is the supernatural. A pseudoscience topic that should be looked into ghosts and the idea of a life after we are dead. This is such a controversial topic that has left people confused for many centuries, but with the scientific advancements that we have today it’s safe to say there is no such thing. The idea of ghost has been very popular because there…