4 ms·

How is astrology falsifiable?

claudiawerner 8y ago
Astrology makes definite claims, and the claims have shown to be false. Check out Shawn Carlson's 1985 piece "A Double Blind Test of Astrology" in Nature.
- msla 8y ago
  The final part of science, then, is giving up paradigms which have been falsified. Astrologers... refuse to do this, to put it politely.
  - claudiawerner 8y ago
    I agree! But the popular conception of science as merely something falsifiable doesn't include that condition - my whole point here (which for some reason people are downvoting me for...?) is that Popper's definition isn't sufficient, because it both includes pseudoscience (astrology) and excludes legitimate (exploratory) science.
VLM 8y ago
The popular conception of astrology as a mechanistic and predeterministic way to evaluate someones life is trivially falsifiable. Like any mechanistic and predetermined way to evaluate someone's life. But that's straw dogging it to the max. The more realistic conception of astrology is as a prehistoric psychological counseling tool which cannot be falsified; some anxious panic ridden pregnant woman asks an astrologer if her newborn will be healthy or not; astrologer sees anxiety will only make the mom and soon to be newborn more unhealthy, calms mom down by explaining the baby will be fine and she can trust him because he's so smart that he knows the constellation Pisces was in the sky when she was born (in the spring, because he's old and remembers her). He knows so much about nature and biology that he can mathematically and mostly correctly even predict star positions, not bad for 10000 BC. She's like "oh wow this dude is smart, for a pre-historical dude anyway" and calms down and the lower stress hormones mean her and the baby survive delivery; holy cow astrology works? That's cut and dried example; a more modern example is nothing in medicine is 0% or 100%, and most times anything that makes the patient feel better results in a better outcome; again; astrology as an auxiliary additional side therapy in concert with modern medicine works?

Astrology makes definite claims, and the claims have shown to be false. Check out Shawn Carlson's 1985 piece "A Double Blind Test of Astrology" in Nature.

msla 8y ago
The final part of science, then, is giving up paradigms which have been falsified. Astrologers... refuse to do this, to put it politely.
- claudiawerner 8y ago
  I agree! But the popular conception of science as merely something falsifiable doesn't include that condition - my whole point here (which for some reason people are downvoting me for...?) is that Popper's definition isn't sufficient, because it both includes pseudoscience (astrology) and excludes legitimate (exploratory) science.

VLM 8y ago

The popular conception of astrology as a mechanistic and predeterministic way to evaluate someones life is trivially falsifiable. Like any mechanistic and predetermined way to evaluate someone's life. But that's straw dogging it to the max. The more realistic conception of astrology is as a prehistoric psychological counseling tool which cannot be falsified; some anxious panic ridden pregnant woman asks an astrologer if her newborn will be healthy or not; astrologer sees anxiety will only make the mom and soon to be newborn more unhealthy, calms mom down by explaining the baby will be fine and she can trust him because he's so smart that he knows the constellation Pisces was in the sky when she was born (in the spring, because he's old and remembers her). He knows so much about nature and biology that he can mathematically and mostly correctly even predict star positions, not bad for 10000 BC. She's like "oh wow this dude is smart, for a pre-historical dude anyway" and calms down and the lower stress hormones mean her and the baby survive delivery; holy cow astrology works? That's cut and dried example; a more modern example is nothing in medicine is 0% or 100%, and most times anything that makes the patient feel better results in a better outcome; again; astrology as an auxiliary additional side therapy in concert with modern medicine works?