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When something is falsifiable, that means it is suitable for examination by science. When something is not falsifiable it should be considered false, in most co

When something is falsifiable, that means it is suitable for examination by science. When something is not falsifiable it should be considered false, in most contexts.

astine 19y ago
I've always felt that that was an article of faith. Ultimately, nothing is falsifiable because you have to make certain assumptions just to function.To truly throw out all assumptions would be to embrace solipsism. All that are left are various arbitrary criteria for belief.
brlewis 19y ago
"When something is not falsifiable it should be considered false, in most contexts." Is the above sentence falsifiable? How do you examine the "should be" question with science? If it is not falsifiable, should it be considered false, or is it an exception? How do you pick exceptions? My two assertions about your sentence: (1) It is not falsifiable. (2) You consider it very useful.
- mynameishere 19y ago
  Notice I tacked on a weasel phrase "in most contexts." I don't think there is a consensus about falsifiability, and I wasn't the one who brought it up. The person who did seemed to understand it backwards. Since Aristotle and Newton operated without the concept, I'm willing to shelve it. Grandma going to heaven can be reduced to absurdity, and isn't very important, except as a typical line of bull.
- Retric 19y ago
  It is falsifiable if you can find a single non falsifiable thing that would be useful / treated as true.
  - randallsquared 19y ago
    "Life has meaning."
    - randallsquared 19y ago
      Actually, this doesn't fit here, because "useful" implies "for a goal", and if there's no ultimate goal to life, then nothing is useful. So "life has meaning" is just another example of something that is only useful if true. Ah, well.
- drunkencop 18y ago
  "Grandma went to heaven" is a statement of fact about a very specific matter that is either true or false. The person uttering it has not seen, heard, smelled, or touched a single piece of evidence to verify this supposed fact. Indeed, they're saying it either because they're sincerely repeating a myth they've heard since they were credulous children, because they want to mollify a grieving child's anguish, or both. If you make a claim about the physical location of a human being, yet you have absolutely no evidence to bolster your claim, then you're making a claim that is not falsifiable and should be considered false.

When something is falsifiable, that means it is suitable for examination by science. When something is not falsifiable it should be considered false, in most contexts.

astine 19y ago

I've always felt that that was an article of faith. Ultimately, nothing is falsifiable because you have to make certain assumptions just to function.To truly throw out all assumptions would be to embrace solipsism. All that are left are various arbitrary criteria for belief.

brlewis 19y ago

"When something is not falsifiable it should be considered false, in most contexts." Is the above sentence falsifiable? How do you examine the "should be" question with science? If it is not falsifiable, should it be considered false, or is it an exception? How do you pick exceptions? My two assertions about your sentence: (1) It is not falsifiable. (2) You consider it very useful.

mynameishere 19y ago
Notice I tacked on a weasel phrase "in most contexts." I don't think there is a consensus about falsifiability, and I wasn't the one who brought it up. The person who did seemed to understand it backwards. Since Aristotle and Newton operated without the concept, I'm willing to shelve it. Grandma going to heaven can be reduced to absurdity, and isn't very important, except as a typical line of bull.
Retric 19y ago
It is falsifiable if you can find a single non falsifiable thing that would be useful / treated as true.
- randallsquared 19y ago
  "Life has meaning."
  - randallsquared 19y ago
    Actually, this doesn't fit here, because "useful" implies "for a goal", and if there's no ultimate goal to life, then nothing is useful. So "life has meaning" is just another example of something that is only useful if true. Ah, well.
drunkencop 18y ago
"Grandma went to heaven" is a statement of fact about a very specific matter that is either true or false. The person uttering it has not seen, heard, smelled, or touched a single piece of evidence to verify this supposed fact. Indeed, they're saying it either because they're sincerely repeating a myth they've heard since they were credulous children, because they want to mollify a grieving child's anguish, or both. If you make a claim about the physical location of a human being, yet you have absolutely no evidence to bolster your claim, then you're making a claim that is not falsifiable and should be considered false.