Science and non-science: the search for a demarcation criterion in the 20th century
Abstract
Contemporary philosophy of science has struggled considerably over an apparently simple question: how can one distinguish scientific from non-scientific thinking (knowledge, research and so on)? What are the characteristics of science which make it a unique type of activity? A sub-theme is also explored: which disciplines or fields of study may be regarded as “science”? These questions constitute the quest for the so-called “demarcation criterion between science and non-science”. The responses provided by some of the most prominent philosophers of science of the 20th century are evaluated, with the conclusion that they have not supplied a solid demarcation criterion. In the final part of the article, however, I briefly out line the criterion elaborated by the South African scholar, DFM Strauss, in the context of the Dooyeweerdian tradition. I suggest that this criterion constitutes a plausible response to the demarcation problem.
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