#71 Massimo Pigliucci: The Philosophy of Pseudoscience
Dr. Massimo Pigliucci is Professor of Philosophy at CUNY-City College, formerly co-host of the Rationally Speaking Podcast, and formerly the editor in chief for the online magazine Scientia Salon. He’s also the author of several books, including Phenotypic Plasticity, Philosophy of Pseudoscience, and How to Be a Stoic.
In today’s episode, we talk about how we can demarcate pseudoscience from science. We go more specifically into certain criteria, like falsifiability, predictability, explicability, and replicability; the distinction between pseudoscience and anti-science; and we also discuss if science, in the end, is a cultural construct, though not as the postmoderns would have it.
Time Links:
What is the demarcation problem?
Falsifiability
Predictability and explicability
Is there a set of criteria that infallibly identify something as scientific?
The disunity of science
The problem with replicability
Is it important to distinguish pseudoscience from anti-science?
The example of Intelligent Design
Why is it important to properly distinguish science from pseudoscience?
Is science a cultural construct?
Is reliance on science experts an argument from authority?
Follow Dr. Pigliucci’s work
Follow Dr. Pigliucci’s work:
Faculty page: https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/profiles/massimo-pigliucci
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mpigliucci/
Books: https://tinyurl.com/yc6tq7ym
Twitter handle: @mpigliucci