Falsifiability or refutability of an assertion, hypothesis or theory is the logical possibility
that it can be contradicted by an observation or the outcome of a physical experiment.
That something is "falsifiable" does not mean it is false; rather, that if it is false, then
some observation or experiment will produce a reproducible result that is in conflict
with it.
Are all swans white?
For example, the assertion that "all swans are white" is falsifiable, because it is
logically possible that a swan can be found which is not white.
Not all statements that are falsifiable in principle are falsifiable in practice.
For example, "it will be raining here in one million years" is theoretically falsifiable,
but not practically so.
The concept was made popular by Karl Popper, who, in his
philosophical criticism of the popular positivist view of the scientific method,
concluded that a hypothesis, proposition, or theory talks about the observable
only if it is falsifiable.
that it can be contradicted by an observation or the outcome of a physical experiment.
That something is "falsifiable" does not mean it is false; rather, that if it is false, then
some observation or experiment will produce a reproducible result that is in conflict
with it.
For example, the assertion that "all swans are white" is falsifiable, because it is
logically possible that a swan can be found which is not white.
Not all statements that are falsifiable in principle are falsifiable in practice.
For example, "it will be raining here in one million years" is theoretically falsifiable,
but not practically so.
The concept was made popular by Karl Popper, who, in his
philosophical criticism of the popular positivist view of the scientific method,
concluded that a hypothesis, proposition, or theory talks about the observable
only if it is falsifiable.
No comments:
Post a Comment