Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Journal Title: ViraVerita: Peer-reviewed E-Journal of Interdisciplinary Encounters - Year 2019, Vol 9, Issue 0
Abstract
The distinction between science and pseudoscience and determining the criteria of scientificity are fundamental problems of the philosophy of science. At the point of determining the boundaries of science, important philosophers of science have tried to distinguish science from non-science by some criteria such as ‘’verifiability’’, ‘’falsifiability’’ and ‘’puzzle solving’’. However, many other criteria, which have been put forward together with the mentioned criteria, are inadequate to qualify some information as unscientific. This situation, which confirms the ambiguity of the science-non-science-boundary, is evident in the attitudes of today's scientists towards astrology. However, the current ‘’case of astrology’’ shows a great similarity with an ancient debate in terms of the point of departure and the nature of the criticisms being voiced. This ancient discussion, which can be called ‘’the case of prophecy’’, includes criticism of the Stoic prophecy which was thought to be a ‘’scientific’’ activity with certain principles, basics and formal rules, and the criticism of the authors who opposed to this understanding. The content of this study is to trace the problem of the boundaries of science based on the similarities between ‘’the case of astrology’’ and ‘’the case of prophecy’’ in the ancient times. In this paper, it is claimed that the boundaries of science cannot be drawn by some methodical criteria. To this end, firstly, the definitions and basics of the Stoics referring to the prophecy and the criticisms of the writers who are opposed to prophecy are discussed; and the position of “pseudoscience” is then evaluated based on these basics and criticisms. In the final analysis, this study tries to reveal that the criterion which distinguishes science from non-science is not methodical; it is rather based on the paradigms determined by social or political tendencies.
Authors and Affiliations
Melike Molacı
Keywords
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