Ufology analyzed through Karl Popper’s principle of falsifiability

The study of UFOs, known as ufology, can be analyzed through the lens of philosopher Karl Popper’s criterion of falsifiability to determine if it qualifies as a science or a pseudoscience.

Popper sought to solve the ‘demarcation problem’ by distinguishing true science from theories that are easily confirmed through confirmation bias, such as astrology or certain psychological theories. According to Popper, a theory is only scientific if it is falsifiable—meaning it must make specific predictions that could potentially be proven false.

A primary example of this is Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The theory predicted that starlight would bend due to the sun’s gravity; when astrophysicists observed this during a 1919 solar eclipse, the theory was validated because it had made a testable, falsifiable prediction.