Science, non-science and pseudoscience [Repost]

In November 2006, Song Zhenghai, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, launched a campaign calling for the abolition of the term "pseudoscience" in the "Science Popularization Law"

The signature of the "Learn" clause received responses from 150 people, causing an uproar on the Internet and in society. This incident directly pushed the confrontation and struggle between science and pseudoscience to a new climax. Phoenix TV's "One Tiger, One Talk"

even made a special feature on this. After watching this TV debate, I feel that many viewers are still unclear about some basic concepts

So it is necessary to define the concepts of science, non-science and pseudoscience and clarify the following

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Guan’s misunderstanding.

The word science has very rich connotations and extensions. It refers to a knowledge system, a research method, a

truth-seeking and pragmatic spirit, and also refers to a social activity. , social establishment, in daily language, the meaning of "science" is broader. For example, it also means "correct". We often say: If your view is unscientific, it means that your view is incorrect. The generalization of concepts is not conducive to discussion. In order to avoid unnecessary debates and confusion of concepts

and to enhance the pertinence of the issue, we first define the concept of "science", which specifically refers to human beings' use of logic

The method of understanding nature and society in a rational and rational way, as well as the knowledge system constructed by this method. Any cognitive system, thinking system or concept that is not formed according to this method is called non-scientific.

For example, daily knowledge comes from experience, religious knowledge is based on faith, philosophical knowledge is based on speculation, literature

and art emphasize imagination, and Feng Shui fortune-telling theory is based on fiction. They all They do not follow strict rationality and logic,

So, they all belong to the category of non-scientific. From the perspective of historical development, science in the modern sense should be counted from the period when experimental science rose during the Renaissance and the rationalism of scholars and the empiricism of craftsmen were combined.

It has formed a relatively mature method and a large system, and is still in the process of continuous development and improvement.

In addition, it must be pointed out that the pair of terms science and non-science is a dichotomy of human thinking or concepts

The world. In the human thinking world and cognitive system, anything other than science is non-science.

This dichotomy must be limited to the conceptual world. Things outside the conceptual world, such as a tree, a dog, and a river, are the things themselves and the objective world. In itself, we cannot say whether it is science or not.