Photo credit: Wikimedia.
Astrology has long been a subject of fascination for many, and it is often viewed as a pseudo-science that attempts to answer questions about the future and human personalities. But amidst all the star charts and scientific-sounding tools, is astrology truly a scientific practice?
Evaluating Astrology: The Science Checklist
Let's use the Science Checklist to evaluate whether astrology meets the criteria of a scientific discipline. This will shed some light on its scientific credibility.
Focuses on the Natural World
Astrology's fundamental premise is that heavenly bodies, such as the sun, moon, planets, and constellations, influence or correlate with earthly events.
Aims to Explain the Natural World
Astrology utilizes a set of rules concerning the relative positions and movements of celestial bodies to generate predictions and explanations for events on Earth and human personality traits. For instance, some forms of astrology claim that individuals born just after the spring equinox are more likely to become entrepreneurs.
Uses Testable Ideas
While some expectations generated by astrology are so general that any outcome could be interpreted as fitting the expectations, others are more specific and can be tested against real-world outcomes. For example, astrology suggests that one's zodiac sign impacts their ability to command respect and authority. If astrology truly explains personalities, we would expect scientists to have zodiac signs described as "favorable" towards science. So far, astrological ideas have failed to pass scientific scrutiny.
Relies on Evidence
In the few cases where astrology has been subjected to careful study with testable expectations, the evidence did not support the validity of astrological ideas. Unlike scientific practices, astrology has not adapted or modified its ideas in response to contradictory evidence.
Many astrological predictions appear in newspapers — not in places where they will be scrutinized by the scientific community. Photo credit: Flickr user Peta Hopkins.
Involves the Scientific Community
Unlike scientific disciplines, astrology does not have a tradition of sharing findings, critically evaluating results, or presenting research at scientific conferences or in peer-reviewed journals. The astrological community largely operates independently of the scientific community.
Leads to Ongoing Research
Scientific studies involving astrology have generally ceased after failing to establish the validity of astrological ideas. There have been no documented cases of astrology contributing to new scientific discoveries.
Researchers Behave Scientifically
Astrologers, unlike scientists, do not rigorously examine the ideas they accept. There is minimal research conducted in the field, and astrologers rarely test their arguments in fair and objective ways. Moreover, they tend to ignore evidence that contradicts their ideas.
The Science Checklist evaluation suggests that astrology does not meet the criteria of a scientific discipline. While astrology may incorporate some scientific elements, it lacks the necessary scientific rigor, evidence-based approach, and involvement of the scientific community.
To answer the question of whether astrology is science, the evidence points to it being more of a belief system or a source of entertainment rather than a scientific way to answer questions about the natural world.
Remember, even though astrology may hold personal meaning for some individuals, it is important to distinguish between scientific and non-scientific approaches when seeking answers to questions about the world around us.
Now it's up to you: Do you consider astrology to be a scientific practice?
