A Farewell to Falsifiability

TL;DR

This paper argues for abandoning traditional scientific criteria like falsifiability and other 'F' concepts, advocating a more flexible approach to evaluating theories such as string theory and the multiverse.

Contribution

It proposes discarding multiple outdated scientific principles, including falsifiability, fidelity, frugality, and factuality, to better accommodate modern theoretical physics.

Findings

Supports giving up falsifiability for untestable theories

Suggests abandoning other 'F' concepts like Fidelity and Factuality

Quotes famous physicists to justify new philosophical stance

Abstract

Some of the most obviously correct physical theories - namely string theory and the multiverse - make no testable predictions, leading many to question whether we should accept something as scientific even if it makes no testable predictions and hence is not refutable. However, some far-thinking physicists have proposed instead that we should give up on the notion of Falsifiability itself. We endorse this suggestion but think it does not go nearly far enough. We believe that we should also dispense with other outdated ideas, such as Fidelity, Frugality, Factuality and other "F" words. And we quote a lot of famous people to support this view.