Falsifiable Statement

A Falsifiable Statement is a claim statement/proposition that can be tested by a statement proving process (to demonstrate whether it is a false statement).

• Context:
  • It can (typically) require Testing Elements, such as:
    • It can need empirical observations through controlled experiments.
    • It can demand reproducible results through scientific methods.
    • It can require measurable outcomes through objective criteria.
  • It can (typically) serve Scientific Functions, such as:
    • It can enable hypothesis testing through experimental design.
    • It can support theory validation through empirical evidence.
    • It can facilitate knowledge advancement through systematic testing.
  • It can (often) possess Falsification Features, such as:
    • It can make specific predictions that can be tested.
    • It can provide clear conditions for disproof.
    • It can allow for counter evidence through observation.
  • It can range from being a Falsified Falsifiable Theory to being an Unfalsified Falsifiable Theory, depending on its test outcome.
  • It can range from being a Practically Testable Statement to being a Theoretically Testable Statement, depending on its testing feasibility.
  • It can range from being a Simple Falsifiable Statement to being a Complex Falsifiable Statement, depending on its testing complexity.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Physical Statements, such as:
    • Temperature Effect Statements, such as:
      • "A cup of warm water will freeze faster than a cup of cold water."
      • "Metal expansion increases with temperature."
    • Astronomical Statements, such as:
      • "The earth spins around the sun."
      • "Light speed is constant in all reference frames."
  • Scientific Theory Statements, such as:
    • Physical Law Statements, such as:
      • Newton's Law of Gravity, predicting object fall patterns.
      • Conservation Laws, requiring energy preservation.
    • Biological Theory Statements, such as:
      • Theory of Evolution, predicting species distribution.
      • Cell Theory, requiring cellular origin.
  • Performance Statements, such as:
    • System Comparison Statements, such as:
      • "System A is always faster than System B on Task C."
      • "Algorithm X uses less memory than Algorithm Y."
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Unfalsifiable Statements, such as:
    • Supernatural Claims, which avoid empirical tests.
    • Revealed Knowledge, which relies on faith rather than evidence.
  • Pseudoscientific Statements, such as:
    • Astrology Predictions, which use vague conditions.
    • Conspiracy Theorys, which explain away contrary evidence.
• See: Falsifiability, Scientific Method, Empirical Evidence, Unfalsifiable Theory, Not Even Wrong, Problem of Induction, Falsificationism, Demarcation Problem.

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References

2015

• (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability Retrieved:2015-3-10.
  • Falsifiability or refutability of a statement, hypothesis, or theory is an inherent possibility to prove it to be false. A statement is called falsifiable if it is possible to conceive an observation or an argument which proves the statement in question to be false. In this sense, falsify is synonymous with nullify, meaning not "to commit fraud" but "show to be false". Some philosophers argue that science must be falsifiable.

    For example, by the problem of induction, no number of confirming observations can verify a universal generalization, such as All swans are white, yet it is logically possible to falsify it by observing a single black swan. Thus, the term falsifiability is sometimes synonymous to testability. Some statements, such as It will be raining here in one million years, are falsifiable in principle, but not in practice.

    The concern with falsifiability gained attention by way of philosopher of science Karl Popper's scientific epistemology “falsificationism”. Popper stresses the problem of demarcation — distinguishing the scientific from the unscientific — and makes falsifiability the demarcation criterion, such that what is unfalsifiable is classified as unscientific, and the practice of declaring an unfalsifiable theory to be scientifically true is pseudoscience. This is often epitomized in Wolfgang Pauli famously saying, of an argument that fails to be scientific because it cannot be falsified by experiment, "it is not only not right, it is not even wrong!"

2014

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objections_to_evolution#Unfalsifiability Retrieved:2014-1-14.
  • A statement is considered falsifiable if there is an observation or a test that could be made that would demonstrate that the statement is false. Statements that are not falsifiable cannot be examined by scientific investigation since they permit no tests that evaluate their accuracy. Creationists such as Henry M. Morris have claimed that evolution is unfalsifiable. They claim that any observation can be fitted into the evolutionary framework, and that therefore it is impossible to demonstrate that evolution is wrong. As such, they claim that evolution is non-scientific.

2014

• (Friesen et al., 2014) ⇒ Justin P. Friesen, Troy H. Campbell, and Aaron C. Kay. (2014). “The Psychological Advantage of Unfalsifiability: The Appeal of Untestable Religious and Political Ideologies.." American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/pspp0000018

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