unfalsifiability
Cannot be disproven
Unfalsifiability is the quality of being impossible to prove wrong.
A claim is unfalsifiable when no conceivable evidence could disprove it—often because it's constructed to explain away any counterexample.
In philosophy of science, unfalsifiability marks a claim as unscientific: The theory's unfalsifiability made it useless for prediction.
Conspiracy theories and certain metaphysical claims share this quality.
Formal boundary setting
- philosophy of scienceStudy of scientific reasoning
- pseudoscienceBogus methodology posing as factual
- paradigm shiftWholesale replacement of frameworks
- scientific methodStructured process for investigation
empiricism · corroboration · verisimilitude · epistemology · Karl Popper · testability · refutability · methodology
Impossible to disprove
- untestableCannot be proven false
- unverifiableCannot be proven
- unfoundedWithout factual support
- unchallengeableCannot be disputed
incontrovertible · indubitable · undeniable · self-sealing · circular · tautological · axiomatic · a priori
Established body of teachings
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- ideologyStructured belief framework
- absolutismUnrestricted governmental authority
- fundamentalismStrict adherence to core tenets
infallibility · inerrancy · certainty · conviction · faith · belief · credo · tenet
Divination by celestial positions
- homeopathyDiluted-substance alternative medicine
- creationismDivine origin doctrine
- intelligent designPurposeful cause over randomness
- psychoanalysisTreatment via unconscious exploration
Marxism · conspiracy theory · numerology · phrenology · quackery · alternative medicine · paranormal · supernatural
demarcation
Formal boundary setting
- philosophy of scienceStudy of scientific reasoning
- pseudoscienceBogus methodology posing as factual
- paradigm shiftWholesale replacement of frameworks
scientific method · empiricism · corroboration · verisimilitude · epistemology · Karl Popper · testability · refutability · methodology · deductive logic
irrefutable
Impossible to disprove
- untestableCannot be proven false
- unverifiableCannot be proven
- unfoundedWithout factual support
unchallengeable · incontrovertible · indubitable · undeniable · self-sealing · circular · tautological · axiomatic · a priori · presupposition
doctrine
Established body of teachings
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- ideologyStructured belief framework
- absolutismUnrestricted governmental authority
fundamentalism · infallibility · inerrancy · certainty · conviction · faith · belief · credo · tenet · canon
astrology
Divination by celestial positions
- homeopathyDiluted-substance alternative medicine
- creationismDivine origin doctrine
- intelligent designPurposeful cause over randomness
psychoanalysis · Marxism · conspiracy theory · numerology · phrenology · quackery · alternative medicine · paranormal · supernatural · cold reading
unfalsifiabilityfalsifiability
Susceptibility to disproof
testability · refutability · verifiability · disprovability · measurability
unfalsifiabilityscientific validity
Accuracy of research conclusions
empiricism · hard science · evidence-based reasoning · scientific method · experimental science
unfalsifiabilityfalsifiability
Susceptibility to disproof
scientific rigor · intellectual honesty · evidence-based reasoning · hard science · self-correction
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