Do we need to change the definition of "Science"??

Question

WHAT is the difference between astronomy and astrology? That's easy: astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects, while astrology is a load of hokum. Anyone with the most basic understanding of science knows why. Astronomy passes the acid test of real science: its claims are always capable of being debunked - in other words, they are falsifiable.

Identified as the defining characteristic of real science by the philosopher Karl Popper more than 70 years ago, falsifiability has long been regarded by many scientists as a trusty weapon for seeing off the menace of pseudoscience.

The late Viennese thinker has been lauded as the greatest philosopher of science by the likes of Nobel prizewinning physicist Steven Weinberg, while Popper's celebrated book The Logic of Scientific Discovery was described by cosmologist Frank Tipler as "the most important book of its century".

Answer 1

Science is the truth and you can't change the truth.

You can hide the truth but up to some extents, one day it is going to be exposed.

Answer 2

Science is "a little more than organised commonsense".

Keen observers (scientists) have defined hypotheses /  theories after making several observations based on experiments conducted in controlled environment, to prove or disprove, a hypothesis or a theory.

Knowledge is always incremental, and Scientific theories - which are based on currently available set of knowledge - can benefit from "increments" in knowledge as this either proves and enhances the established theories; or provides limitations of the established theories.

Hence, "science" is a constantly changing phenomenon, and can never be bound by time.

This also means that things that happen around us and cannot be explained analytically using established science cannot be ridiculed as "non-scientific" or "baseless" or "false". It is only true that we do not know the entire reason today, which we may discover sooner or later. And in process, may discover more such unexplained phenomenon.  



Hence, science is a timeless journey of discovery.

Answer 3

Your statement about falsifiability is a bit off.  A good scientific theory is falsifiable if one can propose a test that could find the theory incorrect if the test were done.  If the test is performed, the theory could be found to be false, or the test could provide more support for the theory.  This does not imply that a good scientific theory can be discredited.  It means that the theory is so precise that one can do the test.

Answer 4

Science refers to a body of acquired knowledge based on research and experimental testing.  The postulations in Science have been proven (in many cases, mathematically, and by observable behaviour), and are able to withstand the test of time, under specified set of conditions; for example F=ma is universally true, can be proven and is indisputable.

By not encompassing non-proven fields (as in the case of astrology) under its discipline, SCIENCE, in its broadest sense, has not violated its definition and what it stands for.  Astrology is the ART of predicting from the movement and alignment of "heavenly" bodies and hence is a debatable and subjective field of study.

Given the stark contrast between ART and SCIENCE, I am of the opinion that the line of demarcation is clear and therefore we need not change what has been generally and universally accepted - the definition of Science.