Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience

@article{Thagard1978WhyAI,
  title={Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience},
  author={Paul Thagard},
  journal={PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association},
  year={1978},
  volume={1978},
  pages={223 - 234}
}
  • P. Thagard
  • Published 1 January 1978
  • Mathematics
  • PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association
Using astrology as a case study, this paper attempts to establish a criterion for demarcating science from pseudoscience. Numerous reasons for considering astrology to be a pseudoscience are evaluated and rejected; verifiability and falsifiability are briefly discussed. A theory is said to be pseudoscientific if and only if (1) it has been less progressive than alternative theories over a long period of time, and faces many unsolved problems, but (2) the community of practitioners makes little… 
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114 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
9
Background Citations
37
Methods Citations
3
Results Citations
4

114 Citations

Identifying Pseudoscience: A Social Process Criterion
Many philosophers have come to believe there is no single criterion by which one can distinguish between a science and a pseudoscience. But it need not follow that no distinction can be made: a…
A Philosopher looks at Astrology
AbstractProfessional astronomers and other scientists have often criticised astrology, although it is not their primary responsibility to tackle borderline subjects. It is rather the task of a…
Cutting the Gordian Knot of Demarcation
A definition of pseudoscience is proposed, according to which a statement is pseudoscientific if and only if it (1) pertains to an issue within the domains of science, (2) is not epistemically…
Astrology and truth: a context in contemporary epistemology
This thesis discusses and gives philosophical context to claims regarding the truth-status of astrology – specifically, horoscopic astrology. These truth-claims, and reasons for them, are sourced…
Demarcating Science from Non-Science
A Secondary Tool for Demarcation Problem: Logical Fallacies
According to Thagard, the behavior of practitioners of a field may also be used for demarcation between science and pseudoscience due to its social dimension in addition to the epistemic one. I…
Cicero's demarcation of science: A report of shared criteria.
Is Sociobiology a Pseudoscience?
  • R. Thompson
  • Psychology, Biology
    PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association
  • 1980
TLDR
This paper defends sociobiology against criticism that it is not genuine science and argues that Thagard's more comprehensive and sophisticated criterion of pseudoscience fails to mark sociOBiology as a pseudos science.
A Psychological Astrologically Oriented Portrait
In order to draw a portrait of Otto E. Rössler, we will use his astrological chart. Astrology is a field of knowledge describing the effects that the celestial bodies (the planets and the moon) could…
The Multicriterial Approach to the Problem of Demarcation
The problem of demarcating science from nonscience remains unsolved. This article executes an analytical process of elimination of different demarcation proposals put forward since the…
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References

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