A pseudoscience is set of ideas based on theories put forth as scientific when they are not scientific.
Scientific theories are characterized by such things as (a) being based on empirical observation rather than the authority of some sacred text; (b) explaining a range of empirical phenomena;...
http://www.skepdic.com/pseudosc.html
Q: What is pseudoscience and how does it relate to the history of psychology?
Q: How can psuedoscience be used to evaluate scientific theories such as Darwin's theory of evolution?
This article is very interesting because I thought Pseudoscience just tended to be a blanket term for things that scientists tended to scoff at such as paranormal activity, or "sciences" that never took off such as Phrenology. However, this post indicates that the term Pseudoscience has more weight than that. A pseudoscience, by definition, is a set or system of beliefs that is put forth as scientific findings when they in fact are not.
Scientific findings are measured in many ways, many of which based on the attitudes that the researchers have. For instance, scientific findings are most accurate when the researcher is skeptical to supernatural evidence, data is empirically measured, and when researchers take the findings as they are regardless of their feelings of the studies.
I feel that previous theories that have been set in place can be measured by these standards. I feel that Darwin's work was more subjective and more open to scrutiny than work done in laboratories in that time period.
I found the article interesting, if not biased. I grew up as a Catholic, 12 years at Catholic school, and only the most fundemental Christians actually believe in most of that creationism crap. My one religion teacher even said to us one day that
"You cannot call yourself truly faithful to a religious if you do not question it at least once. Blind belief is not real faith." This one quote stuck with me more than any other. That combined with a different extremely annoying fundamentalist religion teacher made me start to question religion.
It is true that scientifically speaking, religion is kind of fail, but they do provide hope and can provide good teachings. Science has already disproved the majority of things such as Noah's Ark, the creation of the world, etc. Knowing this though does not mean pseudoscience is completely obsolete. As noted by psychologist, the simple of of THINKING you are getting help or treated for something can actually help you get better. I think someone that just got shot or cut badly should go to the hospital, but things like meditation, chi accumulation, and other alternative medicines are not without some benefit for minor problems.