To abstract this question a bit more: how do we distinguish between science and non-science/pseudoscience?

Before answering this question, let's clarify an important point - the

Science is not the same as being right.

Newton's law of gravity, which ruled classical mechanics for centuries, has been proven wrong in the microscopic realm, but it does not follow that the law of gravity is not a science, only that its scope of application has been more clearly defined.

The essential difference between science and non-science/pseudo-science is the presence or absence of falsifiability (Falsifiability)

Any scientific theory is falsifiable, whereas non-scientific/pseudoscientific theories are not falsifiable。

Before discussing whether TCM theories are scientific theories or not, let's look at a simpler example - the

"The statement 'all swans are white' is scientific because it is falsifiable, as long as one swan is found not to be white, and therefore it is a falsifiable statement.

It is important to note that falsifiable cannot be taken literally and simply understood, erroneously assuming that it must be falsified and proven wrong in order to be called science.Being falsifiable is merely a logical possibility that can be proven or shown to be wrong, it doesn't have to actually happen.

To take another example of a non-scientific discourse - the

"All human beings are created by God."This thesis can neither be proved nor disproved, because humans cannot observe God, nor can they access any evidence that God created humans or did not create them. This is a standard religious discourse, so let's say thatReligion cannot be falsified, religion is not science.

So are TCM theories science? A rigorous formulation would be--

Traditional Chinese medicine theories are not science, but modern Chinese medicine theories within the framework of modern medical research are science.

How to understand? Or to cite two examples, traditional Chinese medicine theory is based on the yin and yang five elements, the liver is wood, the heart is fire, the spleen is earth, the lungs are gold, the kidneys are water, according to the principle of the five elements, there is a good liver and heart is good, the liver (wood) to collect blood to help the heart (fire), the heart (fire) of the heat in order to warm the spleen and earth, and so on.None of the above theories and claims are science because they are not falsifiable.

Tu Youyou discovered that artemisinin in traditional Chinese medicine can fight malaria, which is a scientific discovery, and also won the Nobel Prize for Medicine together with two other scientists.Although Artemisia annua (Artemisia annua) is a traditional Chinese medicine, the research methodology used by Tu Youyou is the scientific method of modern medicine, which is falsifiable, and therefore it is a scientific discovery.

Of course, linking the scientific discovery of artemisinin against malaria to TCM is actually a stretch, but after all, the contribution of traditional Chinese medicine, which has provided us with a great treasure trove of thousands of herbs, is also indelible, and traditional Chinese medicine, though not a science but an accumulation of long term empiricism, has also contributed immensely to the well-being of the Chinese people, and let's not forget the principles emphasized at the very beginning of the article:Science is not the same as being necessarily correct, and theories that are not scientific are not necessarily wrong.

So what is the big deal even if TCM is not a science?

Certain animals seek out herbs to heal their injuries, does that count as science for you?

Chinese medicine black do not have to talk about science, Chinese medicine in the treatment of illnesses and save lives, you talk about Chinese medicine science is not scientific reasoning to abolish Chinese medicine, not Chinese medicine science is not scientific, is that you do not understand science, playing the science of the wobbly anti-science.

On the contrary, you Chinese medicine black for the insatiable desire of the devil, regardless of the people's life and death of the disease, delusional daydreaming to abolish Chinese medicine, ask your science can not solve all the patient's pain, if not, according to your logical reasoning your science is pseudo-science, Chinese medicine to treat many of the diseases and pains of your so-called science can not afford to ah, do not think even think of curing the patient, I have a first-hand experience.

Do not believe in Chinese medicine black out to try

Who dares!

The theoretical basis of TCM is philosophy. From this point of view TCM is still more scientific. This is because philosophy is the scientific understanding of everything in the entire universe, including, of course, the science of the human body and the science of life.

In general, science is characterized by rigorous logic. Neither Chinese medicine nor Western medicine is characterized in this way. For example, the effectiveness of Chinese medicine is traditional experience. The effectiveness of Western medicine is also experience, because when a new drug comes out, it must be tested for effectiveness and safety in mice before it can be used in human beings.

Neither TCM nor Western medicine can find a tight bond in human beings; they are all artificially prescribed. For example, the five organs of Chinese medicine are derived from the five elements in classical Chinese philosophy. For the sake of convenience of expression, Western medicine has also borrowed the five viscera from Chinese medicine. These are all man-made stipulations without any rigorous logic.

Thanks for the invite!

Why are the Chinese still superstitious about things that are thousands of years old? If people in the future, a thousand years from now, are still touting the medicine of our time? Then I really feel sorry for them. A thousand years from now, they should be laughing at our current medicine as garbage and a joke. Because at that time they can easily cure all diseases by editing gene sequences. That's the correct trajectory of history. Technology should not be stagnant or even regressive. People who are superstitious about Chinese medicine please think and read more.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is short for ancient Chinese medicine. As a matter of fact, not only was ancient Chinese medicine unscientific, but so was ancient Western medicine. This stems from the limitations of ancient people's knowledge of nature, and ancient medicine based on wrong theories is certainly not scientific.

The theoretical basis of Chinese medicine is the yin-yang and the five elements. The theory of yin and yang and five elements is the ancient people's erroneous interpretation of the laws of nature's operation, which is a pseudo-scientific theory, and Chinese medicine founded on it is certainly unscientific and has great limitations.

Although it is true that Chinese medicine can cure diseases and save people's lives, the cure rate of Chinese medicine for diseases is very low, and Chinese medicine is at its wits' end for many diseases. Chinese medicine is a summary of the wisdom of ancient people's long-term experience, and the relevant knowledge about Chinese medicine and the means of treatment in Chinese medicine all come from practice. Facts have proved that experience is often unreliable, the wrong theory will inevitably produce the wrong method, with this to cure the disease to save lives, sometimes even if the person can be cured, but also will produce a lot of toxic side effects, or even worse, will aggravate the condition.

Chinese medicine to the human physiological structure of the explanation is wrong, what meridians and acupuncture points do not exist, want to use this to save people, simply impossible. Chinese medicine ignores the nerves and blood vessels throughout the human body, relying on the knowledge of Chinese medicine can distinguish blood type? Chinese medicine at present can only rely on traditional experience to treat some of life's common minor illnesses, treatment of major diseases to do surgery or to rely on modern medicine, otherwise you can only wait at home to die.

Human diseases are partly caused by bacteria and viruses. Without the support of modern medicine, Chinese medicine practitioners are not even clear about the pathogenic mechanism of many diseases. Chinese medicine practitioners to keep hundreds of thousands of years ago medical books, the wrong things as a treasure, many Chinese medicines are not even clear about the pharmacology and toxicology dare to use indiscriminately, is really harmful. Chinese medicine is a traditional culture, but it is not a treasure, there is no need to stick to it, it is inevitable that it will be eliminated by the times, just look at how many people still read Chinese medicine now.

What is said about Chinese medicine treating the root causes and Western medicine treating the symptoms is only the nonsense of people who lack scientific knowledge and who talk about such esoteric things. Modern people cannot live without modern medicine from birth to death. Without the vaccines developed by utilizing the knowledge of modern medicine, I do not know how many infants and young children would have died before reaching adulthood. Without modern medical technology and modern medicine, the average life expectancy of human beings would not even reach 50 years of age, and many people would be afflicted by various diseases.

There are always people who call modern medicine as western medicine, contemporary China has also contributed its own strength to the development of modern medicine, modern medicine is a valuable treasure belonging to all mankind. Chinese medicine has been out of time, modern Chinese medicine is still based on the essence of modern medicine to carry out research, the modern medicine called Western medicine is not correct.

The above is purely the personal opinion of Science Explorer Fungus, if you have more insights, please feel free to leave them below in the comment section. A natural science enthusiast, long-term science Q&A creation, welcome to follow me. Original content, without authorization, please do not reproduce. Your kudos are the greatest support for me.

Why do some people say Chinese medicine is not a science

Hello, I'm Dr. Chung-kook, the barefoot doctor.

I'm just a barefoot doctor. I can't stand what these people are doing.

I don't know anything and I don't understand, I don't know what science means and what it doesn't mean, I heard that Newton, because he was playing under the tree, let the apple hit his head, only then discovered gravity, that is, everything is moving downwards, in the deep I don't understand it, I understand it in such a way, I throw anything, no matter how hard I use it, it all falls to the ground at the end of the day.

Sunlight irradiation of water, water is heated to produce water water gas, water gas rises to gather as a cloud, and finally the water in the cloud falls as rain, and back to the earth up. Traditional Chinese medicine discovered this process a long time ago and called it what qiization. The original text of the Neijing is as follows.　Therefore, the clear yang is the sky, and the turbid yin is the earth; the earth's qi goes up as clouds, and the weather goes down as rain; rain comes out of the earth's qi, and clouds come out of the weather.

Therefore, the clear sun out of the upper orifices, turbid yin out of the lower orifices; clear sun hair coupling, turbid yin away from the five viscera; clear sun real limbs, turbid yin return to the six bowels.

Therefore, this phenomenon is like, the qi of the kidneys is strong, the transformation of the water to nourish the heart so that the heart fire is not hyperactive, the heart fire into rain and landing into the kidneys in order to warm the kidneys water, so the kidneys water is not cold, so there is the emergence of the spirit of the word, the water and fire, the heart and the kidneys such as the emergence of the idioms.

Chinese medicine is so simple, it is about taking phenomena in nature, discovering and applying them to diseases in people, diagnosing and treating them.

In such as gas we can not see, can water the ground now with a water pipe, ancient times can not, but with the water dug in the ground ditch, water flow in the ditch, sometimes can flow to the ditch outside, add some soil to plug it will be fine. So in this phenomenon, people understand that the tangible blood can not be born quickly, the invisible gas when the emergency solid. It means that when people suddenly lose blood, the blood is tangible, visible and palpable, but it cannot be born immediately, but the qi is intangible, but it should be replenished and consolidated. So there is a way to replenish the qi to stop bleeding, qi is like running water ditch, water like blood, is the truth, so that Chinese medicine in nature, rely on their own understanding to discover.

When the ancients discovered that the child's stool can activate the blood to remove the silt, so the discovery of this medicine, and therefore into the medicine to cure the disease of silt and blood. Nowadays, people just purify the urine, called what urokinase, in which the substance put forward to treat, such as cerebral thrombosis disease.

Drinking urine to cure such a disease, purified urine also cure such a disease, in how to say is also urine, and still copy the knowledge left by the ancestors, and now turn around and say that the things of the ancestors is not good, unscientific, on your purified urine science ah.

Is Chinese medicine scientific? The answer is yes. But Chinese medicine does not belong to the category of science, it belongs to the category of philosophy. So Chinese medicine can explain science, but science can never explain Chinese medicine. The reason is very simple, philosophy is a dialectical unity of relations, its theory is the eternal truth, science is the study of the structure of matter, energy structure, in the study of the discovery of matter, in the discovery of the study of matter, so that the cycle of gradual progress, today is considered to be scientific, tomorrow is likely to become a pseudo-science. To study Chinese medicine from a scientific point of view is a monk talking to Buddha, never get involved. Because Chinese medicine is a culture, an art, belongs to the category of philosophy. Why is Chinese medicine culture, not science? Theoretical basis of Chinese medicine originated in China's word art, Chinese medicine eight outline: yin and yang, surface, hot and cold, virtual and real, is not inherent in the text of Chinese medicine, He and the motherland's other words, for example, size, height, length, companion thin, black and white, positive and negative, etc., is a unity of language and textual art, science can be denied yin and yang, but not to negate the motherland's culture, text, art, right! Precisely because Chinese medicine absorbed Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, medicine everyone's cultural essence, only to form the culture of Chinese medicine, the root of culture in philosophy, so the culture of Chinese medicine belongs to the philosophical category, can not be judged by science. Chinese medicine "four diagnosis, eight outline, four gas, five flavors, dialectical treatment" are all through the motherland culture, through the philosophical theory system, so Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment colorful, which is determined by the Chinese medicine culture. Let Chinese medicine return to nature, return to culture, not to science to Chinese medicine to put on the fastening smash.

This involves three aspects: what is TCM? What is science? Is it possible to make the judgment that 'Chinese medicine is science'?

There are many differences between TCM and science.

A>Science has a strict set of 'empirical methods', relying on a variety of experimental equipment for experiments or observations or investigations, whereas Chinese medicine relies on the accumulation of experience by the 'Chinese medicine practitioners', accumulated over time and passed down from master to disciple, a typical work of experience rather than the scientific method.

B>'Experience' and 'empirical evidence' have the same thing in that they both verify the correctness of things, but 'experience' is blind, while 'empirical evidence' is very purposeful.

C>The experience of Chinese medicine practitioners is that they 'know what they are, but do not know the period of their so and so', Chinese medicine can sometimes cure diseases, but the active ingredients of their cures can not be verified, so the principle of Chinese medicine to cure the disease/side effects, indefinable, indefinable, and anyway, it is 'able to cure the disease!'

And modern medicines produced according to the scientific method have their healing principles/side effects clearly and explicitly|! →Science considers the difference to be as small as a thousand miles.

Thus in terms of rigor, Chinese medicine is vague, while science is the precision of precision.

D> scientific results and knowledge are derived from a rigorous set of 'empirical methods' → M (empirical method) → experiment or observation or investigation → search for objective evidence → deduction of causal relationships → drawing scientific conclusions K

Here M (empirical evidence) and K (conclusion) are fully causal, as a result of induction

And the theory of Chinese medicine is 'yin and yang and five elements' → this 'yin and yang and five elements' theory is borrowed from the I Ching, and is the result of an analogical method, not an inductive one like scientific conclusions!!!!

E>Scientific theories have a strict scope, it's like a key that can only open one lock, whereas Yin-Yang and Five Elements is like a master key that can open many locks → earthquakes/thunderbolts/lung/liver diseases etc. can be explained by it, and this is something that it is not compatible with science!!!!

The ancients, because of the backwardness of the productive forces, wanted to borrow 'yin and yang and five elements' to cure the sick and save the people, we can not be harsh and blame, but in today's world, if there are still people who promote the yin and yang and five elements as science is 'pseudo-science'.

F>One of the distinguishing characteristics of science is progress, which does not emphasize inheritance and development, but innovation → constantly developing old results with new ones, or even rejecting them.

In industry, for example; unlimited networks have evolved from 3G, to 5G.

Examples of discontinuing old drugs with new drugs are commonplace in modern western science!!!!

而一谈中医就是继承和发扬，华伦如何如何，< <黄帝内经>>如何如何，几百年来几于创新→没有'创新'的中医怎么可能等同科学呢?!

G>The 'looking, smelling, questioning and cutting' of Chinese medicine is a method with strong subjectivity, and its reliability is uncertain. Five Chinese medicine practitioners coming to question and diagnose the same patient are bound to come to various conclusions, while modern medicine relies on objective equipment for measurement, and the results are objective and unique, ruling out to the maximum extent possible the subjectivity of the doctor.

Therefore, not only is 'looking and seeing' not science, it is alien to science!!!!

Thus, science is 'empirical' and evidence-based, whereas TCM is 'empirical technique', and while empirical technique can be useful at times, it is not within the realm of science!!!!

It is as if science is Zhang San and Chinese medicine is Li Si. Both of them have the same point, that is, they can drink and eat meat, but there are more differences between them, and therefore you cannot call Li Si as Zhang San.

H>Scientific theories are quantified using mathematics as a tool, with strict quantitative data and standards, 1 is 1, 2 is 2, in which Chinese medicine do not even talk about |{

Why do so many people want to insist that TCM is science?!!!

A>They think Chinese medicine is also useful, that is, science.

It is a correct proposition that science is useful, but one cannot displace that proposition to say that 'useful' is science.

There are many things in this world besides science that are useful to mankind, but they are not science but non-science|!

Philosophy/literature arts/culture etc., they all have a great role to play for humanity, but they are 'non-science'.

According to Karl Popper. Popper's division, 'mathematics' and 'formal logic', which have been very useful to mankind, are non-scientific, not to mention Chinese medicine.

Even religion, which is indispensable and useful to some people, is much less science but 'non-science'.

The twenty-four solar terms/peasant farming/various crafts/various tips, they are all useful as empirical techniques, but they are of the 'non-scientific' variety, which is where TCM comes in.

Saying that 'Chinese medicine is not scientific' sounds loaded with criticism.

Judgment → 'Chinese medicine is science', definitely not true, because there are too many differences between Chinese medicine and science, but it is also inaccurate to speak of 'Chinese medicine is not science', this sentence carries a pejorative connotation。

The accurate way to put it is 'TCM is not a science, but a non-science'.

Karl. Popper noted that 'non-science is not in its correctness, but in its unfalsifiability' → On science being falsifiable and non-science being unfalsifiable, interested readers can go to my name for the answer'!

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