Falsifiable Statement
A Falsifiable Statement is a claim statement/proposition that can be tested by a statement proving process (to demonstrate whether it is a false statement)
- Context:
- It can range from being a Falsified Falsifiable Theory to being an Unfalsified Falsifiable Theory.
- It can be a key aspect of the Scientific Method and underpins the process of Empirical Validation.
- It can (often) relies on Empirical Evidence to demonstrate its validity.
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- Example(s):
- "A cup of warm water will freeze faster than a cup of cold water.".
- "System A is always faster than system B on task C.".
- "The earth spins around the sun.".
- a Empirically Validatable Knowledge, such as:
- Newton's Law of Gravity because specific predictions about the behavior of falling objects can be empirically tested.
- Theory of Evolution bacause it makes refutable predictions about, for example, patterns of species distribution or fossil record.
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- Counter-Example(s):
- a Unfalsifiable Statement, such as revealed knowledge or the existence of supernatural entities.
- Astrology, which despite making specific predictions, often avoids falsifiability by explaining away contradictory evidence or being vague about its predictions.
- See: Falsifiability, Scientific Method, Empirical Evidence, Unfalsifiable Theory, Supernatural, Irreducible Complexity, Not Even Wrong, Problem of Induction, Enumerative Induction, Falsificationism, Demarcation Problem, Scientific Method, Conspiracy Theory.
References
2015
- (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability Retrieved:2015-3-10.
- Falsifiability or refutability of a statement, hypothesis, or theory is an inherent possibility to prove it to be false. A statement is called falsifiable if it is possible to conceive an observation or an argument which proves the statement in question to be false. In this sense, falsify is synonymous with nullify, meaning not "to commit fraud" but "show to be false". Some philosophers argue that science must be falsifiable.
For example, by the problem of induction, no number of confirming observations can verify a universal generalization, such as All swans are white, yet it is logically possible to falsify it by observing a single black swan. Thus, the term falsifiability is sometimes synonymous to testability. Some statements, such as It will be raining here in one million years, are falsifiable in principle, but not in practice.
The concern with falsifiability gained attention by way of philosopher of science Karl Popper's scientific epistemology “falsificationism”. Popper stresses the problem of demarcation — distinguishing the scientific from the unscientific — and makes falsifiability the demarcation criterion, such that what is unfalsifiable is classified as unscientific, and the practice of declaring an unfalsifiable theory to be scientifically true is pseudoscience. This is often epitomized in Wolfgang Pauli famously saying, of an argument that fails to be scientific because it cannot be falsified by experiment, "it is not only not right, it is not even wrong!"
- Falsifiability or refutability of a statement, hypothesis, or theory is an inherent possibility to prove it to be false. A statement is called falsifiable if it is possible to conceive an observation or an argument which proves the statement in question to be false. In this sense, falsify is synonymous with nullify, meaning not "to commit fraud" but "show to be false". Some philosophers argue that science must be falsifiable.
2014
- (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objections_to_evolution#Unfalsifiability Retrieved:2014-1-14.
- A statement is considered falsifiable if there is an observation or a test that could be made that would demonstrate that the statement is false. Statements that are not falsifiable cannot be examined by scientific investigation since they permit no tests that evaluate their accuracy. Creationists such as Henry M. Morris have claimed that evolution is unfalsifiable. They claim that any observation can be fitted into the evolutionary framework, and that therefore it is impossible to demonstrate that evolution is wrong. As such, they claim that evolution is non-scientific.
2014
- (Friesen et al., 2014) ⇒ Justin P. Friesen, Troy H. Campbell, and Aaron C. Kay. (2014). “The Psychological Advantage of Unfalsifiability: The Appeal of Untestable Religious and Political Ideologies.." American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/pspp0000018