Pros And Cons Of Astrology

Controversies are a common occurrence in the daily lives of many. Such controversies may range from whether or not fish are healthy to the skepticism of topics such as global warming. When discussing controversies there are many articles in existence that argue both sides of any given subject. One controversy that demonstrates this in today's day and age lies in astrology. This is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human interactions and the natural world. The controversy at hand is whether or not astrology is a good or bad science. Through the analysis of multiple article's arguments, credibility and tactics, it is possible for a reader to evaluate whether an article
by Anna Thanukos the author's main argument is that astrology is unscientific in nature. The author comes to this deduction by picking apart the key points of astrology to see if they fall in line with the guidelines for what is considered to be scientific. The scientific guidelines listed by the author state that the subject at hand must focus on the natural world, be testable, rely on evidence, involve the scientific community, lead to ongoing research and lastly dictates that researchers behave scientifically. Although astrology may fall in line with one or two of the guidelines such as focusing on the natural world, it is shown by the author that in many places astrology does not follow these guidelines. One simple example of this that the author gives is that astrology does not involve the science community. As stated in the article “An astrologer can go his or her entire career and not present findings at a scientific meeting, or publish a single article”. The author then goes on to say that even when they create an article they are, more often than not, unreviewed. A second example that the author gives is that much of astrology is untestable. Thanukos states that “Some expectations generated by astrology are so general that any outcome could be interpreted as fitting the expectations; if treated this way, astrology is not testable”. These two examples alone are enough to invalidate astrology as a science. However,
Tactics can range from fearmongering all the way to simply presenting evidence. The main tactic used by Thanukos in this article is the use of questions. By asking questions the author is able to clearly showcase ways in which astrology is unscientific to the reader. The number one example of this lies in the articles name, Astrology: is it scientific? This question clearly identifies what the body of the article will be about as well as sets Thanukos up to answer the question at hand. In her case the answer is no. Some other tactics used throughout the article include the inclusion of evidence and links to other resources. These both help to fortify the points that the writer is trying to make. Now that the first article has been dissected it's time to move onto the