Karl Popper And Thomas Kuhn 2

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

claims that the common answer to the problem of delineating between science and pseudo-science is that science uses an empirical method, deriving from observations and experiments. This explanation does not satisfy Popper. He has a gut feeling that areas of study like astrology are not science, and he attempts to come up with a theory to prove it. One of the problems I have with Popper is that instead of looking at a concrete problem and trying to come up with an explanation, Popper first made up his mind that astrology is not science, and then set out to prove it. By Popper’s own admissions, confirming evidence is everywhere, but means little. This could be applied all of Popper’s examples.
Popper is "dissatisfied" with the Marxist theory of history, psychoanalysis, and individual psychology. He sets out to describe why his gut tells him that these are unscientific theories. He argues against theories that have explanatory power. Popper has a problem with Marxists ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

Marxist theory. Kuhn argues against this point. He says that introducing "ad hoc" assumptions to save a theory is done all the time in science, and it helps make the theories accurate. Rarely is a theory perfect the first time it is put down on paper. Kuhn thinks that the refinement of theories is an important part of theory development.
Popper says that Astrology is not science because astrologers were too impressed with confirming evidence. Also astrology is not falsifiable. Astrologers make vague predictions and can explain any apparent refutation to the validity of the theory. Kuhn refutes this point by claiming that Popper’s assertion that astrologers escape falsification by ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: