Paul R. Thagard, "Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience"

1.According to Thagard, astrology is

• a) unverifiable
• b) irrefutable
• c) unfalsifiable
• d) verifiable

2. For Thagard a proper demarcation principle

• a) is impossible to construct
• b) must take into consideration elements other than purely theoretical elements
• c) is a variation of Popper's principle
• d) is the criteria of verifiability

3. According to Thagard, astrology can be condemned as pseudo- scientific on the grounds proposed by

• a) verificationists
• b) falsificationists
• c) Bok and Jerome
• d) none of the above

4.According to Thagard's criterion, a given theory

• a) is either scientific or non-scientific
• b) can be scientific at one time and non-scientific at another
• c) is both scientific and non-scientific depending on the context
• d) is non-scientific only if it is untestable

5. According to Thagard, the problem with astrology is that

• a) not enough practitioners believe in it
• b) it is unprogressive
• c) it is simply false
• d) it is untestable

6. Thagard believes that the question of what constitutes a pseudo- science is important because

• a) we must distinguish superstition from science
• b) otherwise people won't know what to believe
• c) we must distinguish truth from falsity
• d) otherwise we might be led to neglect genuine science in favor of pseudo-science

7. According to Thagard, a theory is scientific if

• a) it is verifiable
• b) it is progressive
• c) it is more acceptable that competing theories to the community of practitioners
• d) none of the above

8. According to Thagard the origins of a theory are

• a) relevant when considering its scientific status
• b) irrelevant when considering its scientific status
• c) important when considering its logical features
• d) unimportant when considering its sociological impact

9. According to Thagard, the reasons people have for believing a theory are

• a) important when considering its scientific status
• b) irrelevant to its scientific status
• c) important when justifying the theory, because the more people who believe it, the truer it is
• d) none of the above