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Science or Pseudoscience? Theory Change Between Theories of Disease

Semester: Spring 2024


Presentation description

Miasma theory, the obsolete theory of disease that claimed that disease was spread via "bad airs", is commonly considered pseudoscience today despite having good qualities. In addition, it is unclear how this theory was rejected and replaced with Germ theory of disease, the theory we still hold today. My project applies several analytic philosophical accounts of theory change to this historic case including Popperian falsification and Kuhn paradigm shifting to explain how this event happened.

Presenter Name: Lauren Wigod
Presentation Type: Poster
Presentation Format: In Person
Presentation #A68
College: Humanities
School / Department: Philosophy
Research Mentor: Melinda Fagan
Date | Time: Tuesday, Apr 9th | 9:00 AM