Due: Friday, March 31 at the beginning of class. LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

 

Read “Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience” by Paul Thagard. Answer the following questions. For each question, just explain clearly and precisely what point Thagard makes in the indicated passage. If you have a critical comment about what he says, you may add it. However, there is no need to add critical comments.

 

1) What, exactly, is the example about smoking and lung cancer on p. 225 supposed to show?

 

2) Explain briefly what Thagard says about what the falsifiability criterion implies about astrology?

 

3) In the final few paragraphs of his essay, Thagard discusses two points that may seem to constitute objections to his view. One involves a “challenging historical problem” and the other concerns a kind of “cultural relativism.” What does he say about these topics?