Recognizing Pseudoscience: Alchemy, Astrology, and Magic in the Ancient World

Join philosopher Arkadiusz Synowczyk to explore what pseudoscience is and how to recognize it, all with reference to astrology, alchemy, and magic in the ancient world. This salon is the first episode in a series on the nature of science – its power, limits, and the potential dangers it poses.

Very often, claims about what ought to be done or what one should believe in general are justified with statements such as “science says so.” But to judge the correctness of such arguments, we should ask ourselves, “What is this thing called ‘science’?” In this first episode of a series on the philosophy of science, we’ll begin to inquire into that question

Since one of the best ways to investigate a phenomenon is to contrast it with what it is to be distinguished from, we’ll do so with science. To do that, we’ll focus on one of the most important of such contrasts – the one between science and pseudoscience. And since science was born in the ancient world, our main points of reference will be astrology, alchemy, and magic in the ancient world.

• What is science?
• What distinguishes science from pseudoscience?
• Why do people believe in pseudoscience?
• How can we defend against irrational beliefs?

Recommended materials and suggestions for further research will be uploaded here.