FALSIFICATION (Cross)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1244 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
A practical way to falsify (in POPPER's sense) theories about the workings of natural systems.
Such a method is proposed by M. CHRISTIE (2001) because complex natural systems cannot be subjected to experimental control. Even computer simulation may be inconclusive because it depends on the characters of the model , as derived from the set of hypothesis. Moreover the computer model may in part result of choices dictated by computational logical (binary) necessities.
CHRISTIE states that only cross-falsification is useful, i.e. by creating an interplay between two antithetic theories (for ex. that chlorinated components produce the ozone hole, or that they don't).
If they demonstrably do not, some other explanation should be found and different forecasts about the respective effects could be proposed. The observed deviations from the respective predictions should reveal the real superiority of one theory over another.