| − | In his seminal work, ''The Logic of Scientific Discovery,'' Karl Popper repudiated induction, and proposed the bright line of [[Falsifiable|falsifiability]] as a demarcation between science and non-science. In order to be scientific, a theory must be testable, and the results of the testing must either corroborate the theory, or falsify it. A proposed theory is falsifiable, if it is conceivable to conduct an experiment that would disprove the theory. For example, [[Isaac Newton|Newton]]'s law of gravity is a valid scientific theory because it is falsifiable; that is, the law of gravity is experimentally testable, and a measurement taken that violates Newton's law would falsify it, while a measurement that substantiates the theory would corroborate it, but importantly, would not "prove" it. | + | In his seminal work, ''The Logic of Scientific Discovery,'' Karl Popper repudiated induction, and proposed the bright line of [[Falsifiable|falsifiability]] as a demarcation between science and non-science. In order to be scientific, a theory must be testable, and the results of the testing must either corroborate the theory, or falsify it. A proposed theory is falsifiable, if it is conceivable to conduct an experiment that would disprove the theory. For example, [[Isaac Newton|Newton]]'s [[Gravitation|law of gravity]] is a valid scientific theory because it is falsifiable; that is, the law of gravity is experimentally testable, and a measurement taken that violates Newton's law would falsify it, while a measurement that substantiates the theory would corroborate it, but importantly, would not "prove" it. |
| | While chemistry, Newtonian physics, and many other fields belong to science, metaphysics and pseudoscience are not scientific. | | While chemistry, Newtonian physics, and many other fields belong to science, metaphysics and pseudoscience are not scientific. |