--- On Sun, 4/12/09, Fr. Ivo C. de Souza <icso...@bsnl.in> wrote:
>
>I do not know what is "pseudo-religion" and "pseudo-science".
>
It is very easy to recognize pseudoscience. Briefly, it refers to any
unscientific claim that is falsely advertised as being scientific by its
proponents or promoters. An unscientific claim is a claim about a material fact
or notion that is not falsifiable by observation or experiment, and/or one that
is not consistent with established scientific facts or principles.
For example, a claim that objects and entities visualized in a mystical
experience have a physical existence apart from the brain is an unscientific
claim because it cannot be falsified by observation or experiment.
Here are some characteristics of pseudoscientific claims:
1. Claims in the lay press, popular non-fiction books and public forums, that
make excessive use of scientific sounding words which don't mean anything to
lay people and scientists alike, and whose function therefore is only to dazzle
the gullible.
2. Claims that incorporate religious beliefs, or announce that science has
confirmed one's own pre-conceived religious or ideological beliefs.
3. Claims that rely on anecdotes.
5. Claims originating in the lay press, popular non-fiction books or public
forums that some well established scientific fact or principle has been
disproven.
6. Claims originating in the lay press, popular non-fiction books or public
forums that some unsolved scientific problem has been solved or an incredible
cure for some currently incurable disease has been found.
7. Claims that are supported by cherry picked one-sided or selective evidence.
8. Claims that involve conspiracy theories.
9. Claims that rely on political or ideological justifications such as
East-West dichotomy, cultural relativism, ancient wisdom, revealed truths,
capitalist subjugation, communist/socialist agenda, etc.
10. Claims that rely on innuendo, guilt by association, appeal to authority,
special pleading, appeal to emotions and other logical and prejudicial
fallacies.
11. Claims involving metaphorical, analogical and/or magical thinking.
12. Claims of discovery of a new kind of science, or involving a re-definition
of science.
Cheers,
Santosh
