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MENTAL MODEL · M13005

Falsifiability Principle

Falsifiability Principle
TechnicalHigh supportScientific Methodology
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Updated 2026-08-22

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Proposed by Karl Popper, the falsifiability principle holds that a claim attains scientific status only if a conceivable counterexample could show it false. All swans are white is falsifiable, since one black swan would refute it, so it is scientific. The principle separates science from non-science: theories that can be tested and potentially refuted can also be criticized and improved.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

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- Imagine the counterexample: state the observation that would refute the claim. - Test the testable: any claim with no conceivable refuter belongs to metaphysics, not to science. - Keep or revise: surviving a real test earns temporary retention, never final proof.

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Popper's argument targets confirmation: no amount of supporting observation proves a universal claim, but a single counterexample refutes it. So the mark of a scientific claim is not how much evidence supports it but whether error is detectable. Falsifiability makes a claim vulnerable to the world, and that vulnerability is what allows theories to be tested, criticized, and replaced.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%A6%E5%8F%91%E7%8E%B0%E7%9A%84%E9%80%BB%E8%BE%91ZH · Explicit
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