Falsifiability is the term coined by Karl Popper for the idea that a h

Question

Falsifiability is the term coined by Karl Popper for the idea that a hypothesis or theory addresses the observable world only insofar as it can be found false as the result of some observation or physical experiment. For instance, the proposition “All cats have fur” can easily be proven false with the observation of a single hairless cat. The proposition “The world will end in the year 3035” is impractical to falsify, but still passes the test of falsifiability in that there exists the logical possibility that 3035 will come and go without the world ending. To the contrary, it is possible to posit that everything that happens is the will of Zeus. No matter what experiment we design—such as praying to Zeus to give us the answer or daring Zeus to strike us with lightning—we can always infer that the result is the will of Zeus. Such a proposition, as conceived here, is not falsifiable. Popper claimed that a falsifiable theory is the only kind that can truly be scientific, or at least useful to the scientific community.

By that logic, we can also say that no theory should be formed that has no chance of being true. However, seeing as that kind of theory is much less likely to be formed, it is understandable that Popper does not devote that much time to the criterion of “confirmability.”

By that logic, we can also say that no theory should be formed that has no chance of being true. However, seeing as that kind of theory is much less likely to be formed, it is understandable that Popper does not devote that much time to the criterion of “confirmability.”    1 
 1. According to the passage, which of the following does not meet the criteria for falsifiability?

(A) All birds are black.
(B) Earth is the only planet in the universe with intelligent life.
(C) It rains on Mars every day.
(D) The sun will explode in 100,000 years.
(E) No human being lives forever.

2 
 2. To which of the following is the author most likely to agree regarding “confirmability”?

(A) It is a more important theory than  falsifiability. 
(B) It does not have much practical, scientific use.
(C) It applies to a broad range of theories.
(D) It is an unreasonable idea.
(E) Popper should have developed this idea along with  falsifiability.

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Passage # 134 Date: 04-May-2023
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mitul19 · Answer

Pls provide the explntion for Ques.2. I am confused between option b and d.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. To which of the following is the author most likely to agree regarding “confirmability”?

Explanation

The author states in the last paragraph that a theory that is unable to be proven true is very unlikely to be formed. Therefore, it appears that he/she believes that  “confirmability”  lacks a practical application. The author states,  it is understandable that Popper does not devote that much time to the criterion of ‘confirmability, ’ inferring that confirmability is less important that falsifiability, not more. You can eliminate  (A) .

Regarding  (C) , the author states that a theory that is unable to be proven true is unlikely to be formed, therefore it is unlikely he/she believes that confirmability applies to a broad range of theories.

As for  (D) , in the first sentence of the last paragraph, the author states that confirmability follows the same logic as falsifiability (“By that logic,…”) and thus it appears he/she believes that confirmability is reasonable.

As for  (E) , the author states, it is understandable that Popper does not devote that much time to the criterion of ‘confirmability’. Thus, the author is unlikely to agree that Popper should have developed the idea of confirmability.

Answer: B

cigarboy · Answer

Why is E the answer of the first question?

1. According to the passage, which of the following does not meet the criteria for falsifiability?

(A) All birds are black.
(B) Earth is the only planet in the universe with intelligent life.
(C) It rains on Mars every day.
(D) The sun will explode in 100,000 years.
(E) No human being lives forever.

shendashuai123 · Answer

Because in the article "falsifiability" means everything that can be tested whether it's true or not; Even though there may be a theory can't be tested right now, it still may be tested in the future as technology progresses. So Even though options B-D can't be tested right now, theoretically it's still practical to test them in the future because their principles don't fall out of the recognition of humans to the universe. But theoretically it's impossible to test the validity of option e because everything that's inside human's universe can't last forever.

GMATGuruNY · Answer

From the passage:
 The proposition “The world will end in the year 3035” passes the test of falsifiability in that there exists the logical possibility that 3035 will come and go without the world ending .

Option A   passes the test of falsifiability in that there exists the logical possibility that   not all birds are black .
 Option B   passes the test of falsifiability in that there exists the logical possibility that   another planet will be found to have intelligent life .
 Option C   passes the test of falsifiability in that there exists the logical possibility that   it does not rain on Mars every day .
 Option D   passes the test of falsifiability in that there exists the logical possibility that   the sun will not explode in 100,000 years .

E

Option E   FAILS the test of falsifiability in that there dpes NOT exist the logical possibility that   some human beings live forever .

Falsifiability is the term coined by Karl Popper for the idea that a h

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Falsifiability is the term coined by Karl Popper for the idea that a h

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