Sober - Creationism

Question 1

Pseudoscience

Answer 1

Pseudoscience refers to beliefs or practices that claim to be scientific but lack empirical evidence or fail to adhere to the scientific method.

These ideas often present themselves as legitimate science but lack the rigor and verifiability necessary to be considered scientific

A pretended or spurious science; a collection of related beliefs about the world mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method or as having the status that scientific truths now have.

Question 2

Creationism

Answer 2

Creationism is the belief that the universe and living organisms originate from specific acts of divine creation, as opposed to natural processes such as evolution. Creationists argue that the complexity of living organisms is evidence of intelligent design by a creator

Question 3

The Likelihood Principle

Answer 3

The Likelihood Principle is a statistical concept used in interpreting observations based on their likelihood and probability. It involves assessing the probability of observing certain events given specific hypotheses (P(O|H)) and the probability of those hypotheses given the observations (P(H|O))

Question 4

William Paley: Intelligent design argument for god

Answer 4

William Paley was a philosopher known for his argument for the existence of God based on the analogy of the watchmaker. He proposed that just as the complexity of a watch implies the existence of a watchmaker, the complexity of living organisms suggests an intelligent designer

Question 5

Inference

Answer 5

Inference to the best explanation involves selecting the most plausible explanation for observed phenomena.

Question 6

Popper’s Asymmetry

Answer 6

Popper’s Asymmetry is the idea proposed by philosopher Karl Popper that while it’s possible to falsify scientific theories through observation, it’s impossible to prove them true. This creates an inherent skepticism in scientific inquiry, as theories can only be supported by evidence that hasn’t yet been falsified

Question 7

Duhem’s Thesis

Answer 7

Duhem’s Thesis refers to the idea proposed by physicist Pierre Duhem that scientific theories are not directly testable on their own but are always tested within a broader framework of auxiliary assumptions. This thesis challenges Popper’s Asymmetry by suggesting that theories can be supported or refuted based on how well they fit with these auxiliary assumptions

Question 8

Theory-laden

Answer 8

Observations are said to be “theory-laden” when they are affected by the theoretical presuppositions held by the investigator. Every claim that people make about what they observe depends for its justification on their possessing prior information

Question 9

Deviant doctrine

Answer 9

Isolated breaches of the requirements of science are not commonly regarded as pseudoscientific