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The [[demarcation problem]] is the question, "What is science, and what is non-science?"

The [[demarcation problem]] is the question, "What is science, and what is non-science?"

==== Schools of thought ====

==== Schools of thought ====

There are two broad schools of thought regarding the [[demarcation problem]], or the problem of determing exactly what is science and what is not:

There are several schools of thought regarding the [[demarcation problem]]:

* [[Positivism]], a position popular in the early 20th century and still popular in some circles today, is the idea that only facts which can be empirically observed are scientific, or for that matter, meaningful.

* [[Positivism]], a position popular in the early 20th century and still popular in some circles today, is the idea that only facts which can be empirically observed are scientific, or for that matter, meaningful.

* [[Falsificationism]], the position popularized by [[Karl Popper]], is the idea that science includes only those ideas which can be experimentally tested.  If an idea cannot be tested, it is not science, but "metaphysical," according to Popper;

* [[Falsificationism]], the position popularized by [[Karl Popper]], is the idea that science includes only those ideas which can be experimentally tested.  If an idea cannot be tested, it is not science, but "metaphysical," according to Popper;

* Feyerabandism, the position popularized by [[Paul Feyeraband]], is the idea that science is not privileged in terms of logic or method, such that scientists carry no special authority;

* Feyerabandism, the position popularized by [[Paul Feyeraband]], is the idea that science is not privileged in terms of logic or method, such that scientists carry no special authority;

* Thagardism, the position popularized by [[Paul Thagard]], is the idea that science includes those ideas taken seriously by the scientific community;

* Thagardism, the position popularized by [[Paul Thagard]], is the idea that science includes those ideas taken seriously by the scientific community;

==== Science as objective or subjective ====

==== Science as objective or subjective ====

The schools of thought identified above can be grouped into two broad categories: those which demarcate science in objective terms (positivism and falsificationism), and those which demarcate science in subjective terms (the remaining schools of thought).  The objective schools of thought conceptualize science as something which can be objectively identified based on independent criteria -- essentially, an idea is scientific or unscientific regardless of what anybody thinks of the matter.  The subjective schools of thought conceptualize science as ''what scientists think'' or ''what scientists do'' -- thus an idea is "scientific" if it is accepted by the "scientific community," and ceases to be scientific if it is rejected by the same community.

The schools of thought identified above can be grouped into two broad categories: those which demarcate science in objective terms (positivism and falsificationism), and those which demarcate science in subjective terms (the remaining schools of thought).  The objective schools of thought conceptualize science as something which can be objectively identified based on independent criteria -- essentially, an idea is scientific or unscientific regardless of what anybody thinks of the matter.  The subjective schools of thought conceptualize science as ''what scientists think'' or ''what scientists do'' -- thus an idea is "scientific" if it is accepted by the "scientific community," and ceases to be scientific if it is rejected by the same community.