Karl Popper’s Falsification and the Demarcation of Scientific Knowledge: A Digest

In the pursuit of understanding what makes a science a science, we are faced with the challenge of demarcation. This challenge requires us to differentiate between genuine sciences and pseudo sciences in a motivated and nonarbitrary way. While it is important to acknowledge other epistemically special endeavors like mathematics, engineering, and art, our main focus is on distinguishing between true sciences and those that falsely claim the special epistemic status that science holds. Read more…

Masterclass: Myths of Attraction by Mairi Macleod, PhD

Ever been intrigued about what makes us attractive to others, or why we are drawn towards the people we fancy ?  Dr Mairi Macleod has been researching this and casting light on the science of attraction for many years.  Now based in Edinburgh, she writes for publications such as New Scientist Magazine and various national newspapers, and gives public lectures at the University of Edinburgh and elsewhere.  This article for the Ragged University is a taster of her in-depth work.
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Action Science: Epistemology, Knowledge and It’s Contested Communities

Action science is an inquiry into how we design and implement action in relation to one another. It is a science of practice, whether the professional practice of administrators, educators, and psychotherapists or the everyday practice of people as member of families and organizations. Action science calls for basic research and theory building that are intimately related to social intervention. Clients are participants in a process of public reflection that attempts both to comprehend the concrete details of particular cases and to discover and test propositions of a general theory. Read more…