Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human development is socially situated, and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that people work together to actively construct artifacts. But while social constructivism focuses on cognition, social constructionism focuses on collective meaning-making.
Pseudophilosophy is a term applied to a philosophical idea or system which does not meet an expected set of philosophical standards. There is no universally accepted set of standards, but there are similarities and some common ground.
In philosophy of science and epistemology, the demarcation problem is the question of how to distinguish between science and non-science. It also examines the boundaries between science, pseudoscience and other products of human activity, like art and literature and beliefs. The debate continues after more than two millennia of dialogue among philosophers of science and scientists in various fields. The debate has consequences for what can be termed "scientific" in topics such as education and public policy.
Massimo Pigliucci is an Italian-American philosopher and biologist who is professor of philosophy at the City College of New York, former co-host of the Rationally Speaking Podcast, and former editor in chief for the online magazine Scientia Salon. He is a critic of pseudoscience and creationism, and an advocate for secularism and science education.
Jean Paul Van Bendegem is a mathematician, a philosopher of science, and a professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels.
Bernard Nieuwentijt, Nieuwentijdt, or Nieuwentyt was a Dutch philosopher, mathematician, physician, magistrate, mayor, and theologian.
Etienne Vermeersch was a Belgian moral philosopher, skeptic, opinion maker and debater. He is one of the founding fathers of the abortion, euthanasia law, and the Law on Patients' Rights in Belgium. Vermeersch became an atheist after five years with the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Later he became a philosophical materialist. In January 2008, Vermeersch was chosen by hundred prominent Flemings as the most influential intellectual of Flanders. He died in a hospital in Ghent on 18 January 2019 by euthanasia after a long illness.
A fringe theory is an idea or a viewpoint which differs from the accepted scholarship of the time within its field. Fringe theories include the models and proposals of fringe science, as well as similar ideas in other areas of scholarship, such as the humanities. In a narrower sense, the term fringe theory is commonly used as a pejorative; it is roughly synonymous with the term pseudo-scholarship. Precise definitions that make distinctions between widely held viewpoints, fringe theories, and pseudo-scholarship are difficult to construct because of the demarcation problem. Issues of false balance or false equivalence can occur when fringe theories are presented as being equal to widely accepted theories.
Buddhism is a small religion in Belgium but despite lack of official recognition by the Belgian government has grown rapidly in recent years. As of the 1997 estimate, 29,497 Belgian people identified their religion as Buddhist
Johan Braeckman is a Flemish philosopher. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Ghent and taught at various other institutions e.g. University of Amsterdam. He is editor of the skeptical organisation SKEPP's magazine Wonder en is gheen Wonder. His research, conducted along with a dozen doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, focuses on the philosophical problems associated with the life sciences, in particular the evolutionary theory and neuroscience.
The Centre for Intelligent Design is an advocacy group, headquartered in Scotland that promotes the pseudoscientific principle. of intelligent design.
Cornelis Verhoeven was a Dutch philosopher and writer.
SKEPP is an independent Belgian organization which promotes scientific skepticism. The organization’s name is a backronym for Studiekring voor de Kritische Evaluatie van Pseudowetenschap en het Paranormale.
The Comité Para, in full Comité belge pour l'Analyse Critique des parasciences, is a Francophone Belgian skeptical non-profit organisation. Founded in 1949, the Comité Para regards itself as the originator of the modern skeptical movement. The group's motto is Ne rien nier a priori, ne rien affirmer sans preuve.
Paul Verhaeghe is a Belgian professor of clinical psychology and psychoanalysis.
Wonder en is gheen Wonder is a popular science magazine of the Flemish skeptical association SKEPP. The paper was founded in 2000 by Tom Schoepen, who also served as its editor for its first ten years. The magazine is published four times a year and addresses pseudoscientific as well as science philosophical topics. The title is a reference to the 16th century Flemish mathematician and engineer Simon Stevin's commentary to his famous thought experiment: even if something looks strange, it can still have a naturalistic explanation. The subtitle Tijdschrift voor wetenschap en rede was taken from Skeptical Inquirer, the most world-renowned skeptical magazine that is published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Tim Trachet is a Belgian writer, publicist, journalist and skeptic. He studied mathematics, astronomy and philosophy at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and is a reporter at the VRT, where he produces history television documentaries.
Het Denkgelag is a Belgian association without lucrative purpose that organises skeptical conferences in Flanders. Het Denkgelag started out in 2012 as a series of discussion evenings of the skeptical organisation SKEPP, but nowadays functions financially and legally independent from SKEPP. The mission of Het Denkgelag is to popularise scientific topics and to promote critical thinking for a broad audience. It has been described as “laid-back discussion evenings on philosophical, skeptical and scientific topics, in an informal atmosphere, with a crowd of interesting speakers and the audience as the central guest”.
Scientific dissent is dissent from scientific consensus. Disagreements can be useful for finding problems in underlying assumptions, methodologies, and reasoning, as well as for generating and testing new ways of tackling the unknown. In modern times, with the increased role of science on the society and the politicization of science, a new aspect gained prominence: effects of scientific dissent on public policies.
Andreas De Leenheer was a Belgian academic and biologist. He was Vice-Rector of Ghent University from 1997 to 2001 and Rector from 2001 to 2005.
