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:Note: the current contents of this page are expected to change as consensus is reached. |
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:''Note: The contents of this page are expected to change as consensus is reached.'' |
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{{histOfScience}} |
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{{histOfScience}} |
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This '''history of discredited and pseudoscience'''is an account of the development of the '''protosciences'''; that is, statements about the natural world which were once thought to be authoritative. Protosciences differ from '''pseudoscience''' or '''discredited work''', as they are ''partial'', or ''incomplete work''. |
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From ] up to the time of the ], inquiry into the workings of the universe was known as ], but this included fields of ] which today have been divorced from science. The ancient people of Western civilization who we might think of as '']'' may have thought of themselves as ''natural philosophers''. In other cases, systematic learning about the ] was a direct outgrowth of ], often as a project of a particular religious community. An account of the development of (natural) philosophy from ancient times until recent times can be found in ]'s ''History of Philosophy''. |
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] (sculpture)]] |
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One important feature of ''non-scientific'' natural philosophy is a reluctance to engage in ]. For example, ] is one of the most prolific natural philosophers of ]. He made countless observations of nature, especially the ]s and ] of ]s and ]s in the world around him, which he devote considerable attention to ]. He also made many ]s about the large-scale workings of the universe, which led to his development of a comprehensive theory of physics in his missives of the same name. (See ].) |
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But Aristotle did not make ]s in the way that modern scientific theories are expected to. |
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An '''obsolete scientific theory''' is a ] that was once commonly accepted but (for whatever reason) is no longer considered the most complete description of reality by mainstream ]; or a ] theory which has been shown to be false. This label does not cover theories that are yet to gain wide support in the scientific community (] or ]). This also does not cover theories that were never widely accepted, or theories which were only supported in specific countries because of the imposition of dictatorial regimes (such as ]). |
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In some cases, the theory has been completely discarded. In other cases, the theory is still useful because it provides a description that is "good enough" for a particular situation, and is more easily used than the complete theory (often because the complete theory is too mathematically complex to be usable). ] suggested that all scientific theories should be ] otherwise they could not be tested by experiment. Anything which cannot be shown by experiment to be false would therefore be an ] and have an absolute status, beyond any refutation. |
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<!-- rough dates when these were accepted and disproven (birth and death) would be appreciated! --> |
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<!-- categories would be good too. groups of theories seem to be wiped out in a single blow, while others slowly lose favour --> |
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==Obsolete biology theories== |
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* ] - but revitalised in ] - see also ] |
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* ] - obsoleted by ] |
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* ] (abiogenesis) |
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* ] - or "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" |
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==Obsolete chemistry theories== |
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* ] |
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* ] - replaced by ] work on oxidation |
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==Obsolete physics theories== |
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* ] - discredited by ] |
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* ] - failed to be detected by the ], made obsolete by ]'s work. |
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* ] of the atom - assuming the protons and electrons were mixed together in a single mass |
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* ] - another now-obsolete theory of light propagation. |
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==Obsolete astronomical and cosmological theories== |
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* ]/] - obsoleted by ] and ] |
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* ] - obsoleted by ] and ] |
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==Obsolete geographical theories== |
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* ] theory |
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* The ], an ice-free sea once supposed to surround the ] |
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==Obsolete medical theories== |
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* Theory of the ] |
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* ] - medical history - Some say it transformed into ] and ]. |
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==Obsolete branches of enquiry== |
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* ], which led to the development of ] |
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* ], which led to the development of ] |
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* ], was once widely studied but now considered a ] |
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* ], as distinct from ], now considered a ] |
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==Approximate theories== |
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Here are theories that are no longer considered the most complete representation of ], but are still useful in particular domains. For many theories a more complete model is known, but in practical use the coarser approximation provides good results with much less calculation. |
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* ] - The ] and ] threaten to destroy this comfortable world picture. |
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* ] - The possibility of ]s is one of the consequences of ]. |
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* ]s are no longer thought to be indivisible, but are now seen to be ]. |
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* ] disintegrate at ]. |
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* ] theory - This is still used in the coordinate system of ]. |
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* ] - obsoleted by ] and ]. Still useful in ] and physics at either middling (human) scales or where appreciable fractions of the ] need not be considered. |
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* ] of the atom - Allows for exact solution of the ] atom, but larger atoms are not well described. |
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* Newton's ] for the ] of a ] on a body - no longer considered useful at low speeds, though it has found application in ] |
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==Theories whose significance was overstated== |
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<!-- umm.. awkward title --> |
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* ]s - Though temporary connections between land masses sometimes allowed migrations (as when sea levels were lowered during ice ages), the actual splitting of continents by ] has been more important. |
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==See also== |
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*] - ] |
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'''Lists''' |
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