The Truth About Truth
Introduction
Throughout Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge (1963), Karl Popper suggests that no scientific theory can be classified as truth. The only thing that can be done is to attempt to falsify the theory over and over again reject the theory repeatedly in different situations. Each failed attempt will strengthen the theory and bring it closer to the truth. Hence, Popper claimed that the truth of a hypothesis can never be confirmed.
A hypothesis is an “if-then” statement, which that is an assumption of causality. A basic example of a hypothesis is “If somebody jaywalks, then others will too”. To confirm this hypothesis of human psychology and the causality of one person jaywalking leading to others jaywalking, one would have to observe the reaction of the other subjects to the original jaywalker. On a more general note, for a hypothesis to be tested and confirmed, one must observe the effect of whatever is being caused. An observation is made when a person or device uses one of its senses to detect and formulate an understanding of what has happened, whether it is qualitative or quantitative. However, for somebody or something to hear an event, it is assumed that the sound must travel from the source to the observer and for somebody or something to witness an event, the light must travel from the source to the observer. Sound and light are Light is assumed to travel at a finite speeds and are is prone to alterations from obstructions. For example, light is assumed to bend due to gravity and change colour if the light source is moving. Likewise, Sound sound waves are also assumed to become construed to change when the source is moving or if the sound has to pass through obstructions. Humans mainly primarily depend on observing light and sound to receive information that would support or confirm a hypothesis. Therefore, I am in support of Popper’s argument that hypotheses can never be confirmed because our
Throughout Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge (1963), Karl Popper suggests that no scientific theory can be classified as truth. The only thing that can be done is to attempt to falsify the theory over and over again reject the theory repeatedly in different situations. Each failed attempt will strengthen the theory and bring it closer to the truth. Hence, Popper claimed that the truth of a hypothesis can never be confirmed.
A hypothesis is an “if-then” statement, which that is an assumption of causality. A basic example of a hypothesis is “If somebody jaywalks, then others will too”. To confirm this hypothesis of human psychology and the causality of one person jaywalking leading to others jaywalking, one would have to observe the reaction of the other subjects to the original jaywalker. On a more general note, for a hypothesis to be tested and confirmed, one must observe the effect of whatever is being caused. An observation is made when a person or device uses one of its senses to detect and formulate an understanding of what has happened, whether it is qualitative or quantitative. However, for somebody or something to hear an event, it is assumed that the sound must travel from the source to the observer and for somebody or something to witness an event, the light must travel from the source to the observer. Sound and light are Light is assumed to travel at a finite speeds and are is prone to alterations from obstructions. For example, light is assumed to bend due to gravity and change colour if the light source is moving. Likewise, Sound sound waves are also assumed to become construed to change when the source is moving or if the sound has to pass through obstructions. Humans mainly primarily depend on observing light and sound to receive information that would support or confirm a hypothesis. Therefore, I am in support of Popper’s argument that hypotheses can never be confirmed because our