"Michael J. Kane" wrote:
> I notice that you don't appear to place particular emphasis
> on the *falsifiablity* of claims/explanations in distinguishing science from
>pseudoscience (at least not as much as an
> emphasis as some others who are interested in this
> distinction).... But, many (most?) pseudoscientific claims cannot be falsified
> by *any* kind of objective evidence. That is, evidence is
> functionally irrelevant.
I do agree that what "pseudoscientists" do with potentially falsifying evidence is
probably the surest sign that there is
something unscientific about their practices. It seems to me, however, that those whom
we might consider to be scientists
often do something similar (although much less extreme usually), especially when not
much is known about the phenomenon
under investigation or the issues are very complex. I am thinking here of what has
gone on in the repressed/false memory
controversy and what is going on with the whole issue (raised most importantly by
Judith Harris) about the degree to
which parenting makes a difference (a good article on this in the most recent American
Psychologist). That is, in
defending our claims, we often try to explain why potentially falsifying evidence is
less important than one might think.
This seems like a rational thing to do when there are many difficult questions that
have still not been investigated.
But I agree that pseudoscience, whatever it is, tends to have a blatant disregard for
potentially falsifying evidence. I
believe, however, that what I stated in the definition gets at this issue: one gathers
evidence to see if it supports or
fails to support one's claim. If enough well-controlled evidence is gathered and one's
claim is unsupported by most of
it, it is most rational to reject the claim. Those who continue to hold onto the claim
should be labeled as
pseudoscientists.
This is my quick answer. I will consider your comment more carefully when I get time
to come back to this.
Jeff
--
Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
"The truth is rare and never simple."
Oscar Wilde
"Science must begin with myths and with the criticism of myths"
Karl Popper
