FALSIFICATION CRITERION AND THE PROGRES OF SCIENCE IN KARL POPPER: A CRITIQUE
Abstract
This study is a critique of falsification criterion and the concept of scientific progress in Karl Popper. It set out to address the question of what constitute the defining method for the progress of science. The aim of the study is to showcase the merits and limitations of falsifiability in relation to scientific progress. In this sense, the study adopts the hermeneutics and content analysis method of enquiry. Hence, the study submits that, for Popper, science advances through a process of conjecture and refutation, rather than verification. In his view, scientific theories are proposed as conjectures, which are then subjected to rigorous testing through attempts to falsify them. To conclude, the study recommends complementarity for the scientific process, thus, scientists should rely on both verification and falsification, and in the same vein, fostering a culture of critical scrutiny and openness to new ideas
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