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Reiki is a pseudoscience, [327] and is used as an illustrative example of pseudoscience in scholarly texts and academic journal articles. It is based on qi ("chi"), which practitioners say is a universal life force , although there is no empirical evidence that such a life force exists.
In the history of science and the history of pseudoscience it can be especially difficult to separate the two, because some sciences developed from pseudosciences. An example of this transformation is the science of chemistry, which traces its origins to the pseudoscientific or pre-scientific study of alchemy.
Examples of conditions that are not necessarily pseudoscientific include: Conditions determined to be somatic in nature, including mass psychogenic illnesses. Medicalized conditions that are not pathogenic in nature, such as aging, childbirth, pregnancy, sexual addiction, baldness, jet lag, and halitosis. [2]
Pseudoscience is a broad group of theories or assertions about the natural world that claim or appear to be scientific, but that are not accepted as scientific by the scientific community.
An example of this is the science chemistry, which traces its origins from the protoscience of alchemy. The vast diversity in pseudosciences further complicates the history of pseudoscience. Some pseudosciences originated in the pre-scientific era, such as astrology and acupuncture .
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. [Note 1] Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claims; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to evaluation by other experts; absence of ...
For example, Lyell D. Henry Jr. wrote, "Fringe science [is] a term also suggesting kookiness." [ 6 ] This characterization is perhaps inspired by the eccentric behavior of many researchers of the kind known colloquially (and with considerable historical precedent) as mad scientists .
The term occult sciences was used in the 16th century to refer to astrology, alchemy, and natural magic, which today are considered pseudosciences. The term occultism emerged in 19th-century France, where it came to be associated with various French esoteric groups connected to Éliphas Lévi and Papus , and in 1875 was introduced into the ...