- Title Pages
- Introduction Why the Demarcation Problem Matters
- 1 The Demarcation Problem
- 2 Science and Pseudoscience
- 3 Toward a Demarcation of Science from Pseudoscience
- 4 Defining Pseudoscience and Science
- 5 Loki's Wager and Laudan's Error
- 6 The Problem of Demarcation
- 7 Science, Pseudoscience, and Science Falsely So-Called
- 8 Paranormalism and Pseudoscience as Deviance
- 9 Belief Buddies versus Critical Communities
- 10 Science and the Messy, Uncontrollable World of Nature
- 11 Science and Pseudoscience
- 12 Evolution
- 13 Is a Science of the Supernatural Possible?
- 14 Navigating the Landscape between Science and Religious Pseudoscience
- 15 Argumentation and Pseudoscience
- 16 Why Alternative Medicine Can Be Scientifically Evaluated
- 17 Pseudoscience
- 18 The Holocaust Denier's Playbook and the Tobacco Smokescreen
- 19 Evolved to Be Irrational?
- 20 Werewolves in Scientists' Clothing
- 21 The Salem Region
- 22 Pseudoscience and Idiosyncratic Theories of Rational Belief
- 23 Agentive Thinking and Illusions of Understanding
- Contributors
- Index
The Demarcation Problem
The Demarcation Problem
A (Belated) Response to Laudan
- Chapter:
- (p.9) 1 The Demarcation Problem
- Source:
- Philosophy of Pseudoscience
- Author(s):
Massimo Pigliucci
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
This chapter argues that Laudan's claim that the demarcation problem has been solved was premature. It first reviews Karl Popper's original arguments concerning demarcation and falsification. It then comments on Laudan's brief history of the demarcation problem and argues against Laudan's “metaphilosophical interlude,” where he sets out the demarcation problem as he understands it. Finally, it attempts to rethink the problem itself, building on an observation made by Kuhn (1974, 803) and a suggestion contributed by Dupré (1993).
Keywords: Larry Laudan, Karl Popper, demarcation, falsification, Kuhn, Dupré, metaphilosophical interlude
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- Title Pages
- Introduction Why the Demarcation Problem Matters
- 1 The Demarcation Problem
- 2 Science and Pseudoscience
- 3 Toward a Demarcation of Science from Pseudoscience
- 4 Defining Pseudoscience and Science
- 5 Loki's Wager and Laudan's Error
- 6 The Problem of Demarcation
- 7 Science, Pseudoscience, and Science Falsely So-Called
- 8 Paranormalism and Pseudoscience as Deviance
- 9 Belief Buddies versus Critical Communities
- 10 Science and the Messy, Uncontrollable World of Nature
- 11 Science and Pseudoscience
- 12 Evolution
- 13 Is a Science of the Supernatural Possible?
- 14 Navigating the Landscape between Science and Religious Pseudoscience
- 15 Argumentation and Pseudoscience
- 16 Why Alternative Medicine Can Be Scientifically Evaluated
- 17 Pseudoscience
- 18 The Holocaust Denier's Playbook and the Tobacco Smokescreen
- 19 Evolved to Be Irrational?
- 20 Werewolves in Scientists' Clothing
- 21 The Salem Region
- 22 Pseudoscience and Idiosyncratic Theories of Rational Belief
- 23 Agentive Thinking and Illusions of Understanding
- Contributors
- Index
