Pseudoscience Is A Form Of Bad Reasoning - 1442 Words

Pseudoscience Pseudoscience is a form of bad reasoning because it lacks empirical evidence. It disregards the scientific method and is usually unreliable. Some examples of pseudoscience are astrology, hypnosis, and polygraph tests. Although science is a factor in each of these examples, they are not justifiable because the results cannot be replicated. By learning more about pseudoscience, we can recognize illogical thinking and prevent it. Pseudoscience not only causes irrational reasoning, its effects can lead to illness or even death. However, by changing our reasoning, we can minimize the harmful effects of pseudoscience. Other benefits of pseudoscience include leading the way to new research and testing new ideas. By recognizing pseudoscience we can be avoid bad reasoning and use scientific evidence in our decision making. Pseudoscience is a belief based on science without supporting scientific evidence. For example, in the book, The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, the Mozart effect is the pseudoscientific belief that symphony music makes people smarter (198). The effect became popular in the media when a researcher wrote a scholarly article about it. However, when others attempted to replicate the study they received different results (Chabris and Simons 203). The basis for scientific research is consistency and the ability to replicate studies. When a study is unable to be replicated then it loses its scientific credibility. PseudoscienceShow MoreRelatedHalo Effect Essay2917 Words   |  12 Pagesgood or bad right across the board. There was little mixing of traits; few people were said to be good in one respect but bad in another.* The old saying that first impressions make lasting impressions is at the heart of the halo effect. If a soldier made a good (or bad) first im pression on his commanding officer, that impression would influence the officers judgment of future behavior. It is very unlikely that given a group of soldiers every one of them would be totally good or totally bad at everythingRead MoreArgument Of Larry Laudan s Pessimistic Meta Induction Essay1444 Words   |  6 Pagesof empirically verified theories that were later rejected, and because the unobservable terms within the larger theories are intertwined, they can’t be viewed as true or even approximately true (Saatsi.) Laudan’s argument can be placed in standard form like so: (1) Assume that the success of a theory is a reliable test of its truth. (2) Most current scientific theories are successful. (3) So most current scientific theories are true. (4) Then more past scientific theories are false, since theyRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesupdated: April 26, 2016 Logical Reasoning Bradley H. Dowden Philosophy Department California State University Sacramento Sacramento, CA 95819 USA ii iii Preface Copyright  © 2011-14 by Bradley H. Dowden This book Logical Reasoning by Bradley H. Dowden is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. That is, you are free to share, copy, distribute, store, and transmit all or any part of the work under the following conditions:Read More The Philosophies of John Stuart Mill as a Guide for the World4253 Words   |  18 Pagesareas, the severity of the subjection of women varies from nation to nation and from community to community. Of the many ways in which this subjection manifests itself, female genital mutilation is perhaps the worst. This practice comes in several forms, ranging in severity from the least traumatic, clitoridectomy, to the most extensively mutilating, infibulation, which involves the removal of all external genitalia and the sewing up of the vagina, leaving an opening large enough only for urine and