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Yes, I would say that science is a branch of epistemology that uses evidence to generate knowledge to increase predictive power. I think the difference between hard and soft sciences is just how tangible your predictions are.

Soft fields are definitely harder to research, but instead of acknowledging this, many soft researchers ignore epistemological limits to make their research sound ‘harder.’

A good example is this psych researcher deriving equations of emotion based on fluid mechanics [O]. Somehow people in these fields don’t understand and/or care and allow this bullshit to continue.

I think many or most soft research programs are currently in “degenerate” territory (Lakotos)

[0] https://www.narratively.com/p/nick-brown-smelled-bull




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