Karl Popper, conjecture & refutations
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Explain why, according to Popper, the falsifiability of a theory is the most important criterion for a theory to be scientific. How does this claim relate to the "problem of induction?
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The expert explains the falsifiability of a theory being the most important criterion for a theory to be scientific.
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QUESTION: Karl Popper, conjecture & refutations
Explain why, according to Popper, the falsifiability of a theory is the most important criterion for a theory to be scientific. How does this claim relate to the "problem of induction?
Popper rejected induction outright (i.e. the outcome of an experiment can never favours a hypothesis, and no positive evidence for a theories truth is possible) and sought an alternative, deductivist account of the scientific method. Popper saw Hume as 'clear and conclusive' on the question of induction, regarding inductive inference as in no way rationally justifiable. However, Popper rejected Hume's 'psychological' explanation/solution, opting rather for falsification as his 'resolution' of the problem. The approach is more a circumvention of the problem than an actual answer - i.e. it is supposed to show how science might avoid using induction altogether, rather than how induction might be justified.
Popper's basic idea is that while we cannot ...
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