Difference between revisions of "Mechanism of Theory Demarcation"

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|Question=How do theories become ''scientific'' or ''unscientific''?
 
|Question=How do theories become ''scientific'' or ''unscientific''?
 
|Topic Type=Descriptive
 
|Topic Type=Descriptive
|Description=Sarwar and Fraser propose the ''law the theory demarcation'', which states that "If a theory satisfies the demarcation criteria of the method employed at the time, it becomes scientific; it it does not, it remains unscientific; if assessment is inconclusive, the theory's status can become scientific, unscientific, or uncertain".[[CiteRef::Sarwar and Fraser (2018)]] The fundamental notion is that epistemic agenst employ mentods, which include the demarcation criteria used to differentiate, from the epistemic agent's perspective, propositions that are scientific from those that are not. A theory may become scientific when, after it is subjected to assessment by the demarcation criteria, it consclusively satisfies the criteria. Here, it would be impossible for this theory to be considered by the agent to be unscientific, pseudoscientific, or uncertain. The other mechanism via which a theory may become scientific occurs when, upon initial assessment, its status is not conclusively determined. Here, it is possible for the theory to then become scientific, turn unscientific, or remain uncertain. These are the two processes via which an unscientific theory may become scientific.
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|Description=Sarwar and Fraser propose the ''law the theory demarcation'', which states that "If a theory satisfies the demarcation criteria of the method employed at the time, it becomes scientific; if it does not, it remains unscientific; if assessment is inconclusive, the theory's status can become scientific, unscientific, or uncertain".[[CiteRef::Sarwar and Fraser (2018)]] The fundamental notion is that epistemic agents employ mentods, which include the ''demarcation criteria'' used to differentiate, from the epistemic agent's perspective, propositions that are scientific from those that are not. A theory may become scientific when, after it is subjected to assessment by the demarcation criteria, it conclusively satisfies the criteria. Here, it would be impossible for this theory to be considered by the agent to be unscientific, pseudoscientific, or uncertain. The other mechanism via which a theory may become scientific occurs when, upon initial assessment, its status is determined only inconclusively. Here, it is possible for the theory to then become scientific, turn unscientific, or remain uncertain. These are the two processes via which an unscientific theory may become scientific.
  
The process of a scientific theory becoing unscientific also has two mechanisms. First, if the assessment outcome of the demarcation criteria consclusively deems the theory to be unscientific, then it cannot be considered scientific and its status cannot be uncertain. The other mechanism takes place when a scientific theory's assessment engenders the outcome inconclusive, which may lead to the theory being scientific, unscientific, or uncertain.
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The process via which a scientific theory becomes unscientific also has two mechanisms. First, if the assessment outcome of the demarcation criteria conclusively deems the theory to be unscientific, then it cannot be considered scientific and its status cannot be uncertain. The other mechanism takes place when a scientific theory's assessment engenders the outcome inconclusive, which may lead to the theory being scientific, unscientific, or uncertain.
  
Among the four pathways, first two explain the possible mechanisms via which an unscientific theory may become scientific and the second two explain how a scientific theory may become unscientific. It may also be observed that in both cases the conclusive assessment outcomes is, as it were, deterministic, whereas the inconclusive outcome in both cases is stachastic in nature. All four, taken together, delineate the possible means via which an unscientific theory may become scientific and ''vice versa''.
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Among the four pathways, first two explain the possible mechanisms via which an unscientific theory may become scientific and the second two explain how a scientific theory may become unscientific. It may also be observed that in both cases the conclusive assessment outcomes are, as it were, deterministic, whereas the inconclusive outcomes in both cases are stochastic in nature. All four, taken together, delineate the possible means via which an unscientific theory may become scientific and ''vice versa''.
 
|Parent Topic=Mechanism of Scientific Change
 
|Parent Topic=Mechanism of Scientific Change
 
|Authors List=Ameer Sarwar, Patrick Fraser,
 
|Authors List=Ameer Sarwar, Patrick Fraser,

Revision as of 00:21, 26 February 2019

How do theories become scientific or unscientific?

Sarwar and Fraser propose the law the theory demarcation, which states that "If a theory satisfies the demarcation criteria of the method employed at the time, it becomes scientific; if it does not, it remains unscientific; if assessment is inconclusive, the theory's status can become scientific, unscientific, or uncertain".1 The fundamental notion is that epistemic agents employ mentods, which include the demarcation criteria used to differentiate, from the epistemic agent's perspective, propositions that are scientific from those that are not. A theory may become scientific when, after it is subjected to assessment by the demarcation criteria, it conclusively satisfies the criteria. Here, it would be impossible for this theory to be considered by the agent to be unscientific, pseudoscientific, or uncertain. The other mechanism via which a theory may become scientific occurs when, upon initial assessment, its status is determined only inconclusively. Here, it is possible for the theory to then become scientific, turn unscientific, or remain uncertain. These are the two processes via which an unscientific theory may become scientific.

The process via which a scientific theory becomes unscientific also has two mechanisms. First, if the assessment outcome of the demarcation criteria conclusively deems the theory to be unscientific, then it cannot be considered scientific and its status cannot be uncertain. The other mechanism takes place when a scientific theory's assessment engenders the outcome inconclusive, which may lead to the theory being scientific, unscientific, or uncertain.

Among the four pathways, first two explain the possible mechanisms via which an unscientific theory may become scientific and the second two explain how a scientific theory may become unscientific. It may also be observed that in both cases the conclusive assessment outcomes are, as it were, deterministic, whereas the inconclusive outcomes in both cases are stochastic in nature. All four, taken together, delineate the possible means via which an unscientific theory may become scientific and vice versa.

In the scientonomic context, this question was first formulated by Patrick Fraser and Ameer Sarwar in 2018.

Scientonomic History

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All Theories

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TheoryFormulationFormulated In
The Law of Theory Demarcation (Sarwar-Fraser-2018)If a theory satisfies the demarcation criteria of the method employed at the time, it becomes scientific; if it does not, it remains unscientific; if assessment is inconclusive, the theory’s status can become scientific, unscientific, or uncertain.2018

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Accepted Theories

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Suggested Modifications

Here is a list of modifications concerning this topic:
Modification Community Date Suggested Summary Verdict Verdict Rationale Date Assessed
Sciento-2018-0014 Scientonomy 28 December 2018 Accept the law of theory demarcation as a new scientonomic axiom. Also accept questions concerning indicators of scientificity as legitimate topics of scientonomic inquiry. Open The modification can only become accepted once modification Sciento-2018-0013 becomes accepted.

Current View

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Related Topics

This question is a subquestion of Mechanism of Scientific Change.

References

  1. ^  Sarwar, Ameer and Fraser, Patrick. (2018) Scientificity and The Law of Theory Demarcation. Scientonomy 2, 55-66. Retrieved from https://www.scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/31275.