How connected are the major forms of irrationality? An analysis of pseudoscience, science denial, fact resistance and alternative facts

Authors

  • Sven Ove Hansson Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Sweden).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.8.10005

Keywords:

pseudoscience, science denial, fact resistance, alternative facts, disinformation

Abstract

Science is a fact-finding practice, but there are many other fact-finding practices that apply largely the same patterns of reasoning in order to achieve as reliable information as possible in empirical issues. The fact-finding practices form in their turn a subcategory of rational discourse, a wider category that also encompasses argumentation on non-empirical issues. Based on these categories, it is easy to see the relationship between on the one hand pseudoscience, and on the other hand fact resistance, disinformation, and fallacies of reasoning. The flaws in argumentation are similar, and the main difference is whether or not the subject matter falls within or without the realm of science.

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Author Biography

Sven Ove Hansson, Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Sweden).

Professor of Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy and History of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (Sweden). He is the author of well over 300 articles in international refereed journals in various areas, including the philosophy of science and technology, epistemology, logic, fundamental and applied moral theory, value theory, and political philosophy.

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Published

2018-06-05

How to Cite

Hansson, S. O. (2018). How connected are the major forms of irrationality? An analysis of pseudoscience, science denial, fact resistance and alternative facts. Metode Science Studies Journal, (8), 125–131. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.8.10005
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Issue

Making science: A multitude of perspectives (2018)

Section

The scam of pseudoscience

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