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Falsifiability is commonly used as a criterion for whether a particular proposition is "scientific."  Philosopher [[Karl Popper]] popularized this criterion, arguing that science progresses through the process of "Observation, speculation, falsification;" That is, we observe the universe, we develop a speculative hypothesis about the universe, and we test our hypothesis.  If our hypothesis is proven false, we discard it.  If our hypothesis is not proven false, we can consider it provisionally true.  According to Popper, there is no such thing as ''scientific certainty;'' on the contrary, all our beliefs are properly held ''provisionally,'' and always subject to the possibility that they will someday be disproven by experiment.   

Falsifiability is commonly used as a criterion for whether a particular proposition is "scientific."  Philosopher [[Karl Popper]] popularized this criterion, arguing that science progresses through the process of "Observation, speculation, falsification;" That is, we observe the universe, we develop a speculative hypothesis about the universe, and we test our hypothesis.  If our hypothesis is proven false, we discard it.  If our hypothesis is not proven false, we can consider it provisionally true.  According to Popper, there is no such thing as ''scientific certainty;'' on the contrary, all our beliefs are properly held ''provisionally,'' and always subject to the possibility that they will someday be disproven by experiment.   

Popper, and those who agree with him, categorize many types of ideas as unfalsifiable, particularly in psychology and religion.  For example, the proposition "Joe beats his children because his father beat him" is unfalsifiable, because we cannot perform a test in which Joe was ''not'' beaten by his father, and see if Joe still beats his children.  Because the proposition is not testable, according to falsificationism, it is no better than any other hypothesis, and therefore not useful, and not scientific.

Popper, and those who agree with him, categorize many types of ideas as unfalsifiable, particularly in psychology and religion.  For example, the proposition "Joe beats his children because his father beat him" is unfalsifiable, because we cannot perform a test in which Joe was ''not'' beaten by his father, and see if Joe still beats his children.  Because the proposition is not testable, according to falsificationism, it is no better than any other hypothesis, and therefore not useful, and not scientific. However, the broader hypothesis "Parents who were beaten as children are more likely to beat their own children" can be falsified - e.g. through surveys - and if that broader hypothesis was supported, it would also lend weight to the position that it was true in Joe's particular case also. Thus, while propositions about specific historical persons or events are not directly falsifiable, they can be indirectly falsifiable insofar as they depend on broader claims that are falsifiable.

A good example of an unfalsifiable concept is the nature of matter inside [[Black hole|black holes]]. By definition, the interior of a black hole cannot be seen and thus assertions about the interior are unfalsifiable.  

A good example of an unfalsifiable concept is the nature of matter inside [[Black hole|black holes]]. By definition, the interior of a black hole cannot be seen and thus assertions about the interior are unfalsifiable.