Astrology- A Science?

We have all, voluntarily or involuntarily, had encounters with astrology in one form or another. Most of us believe that astrology is scientific. Astrology is a belief system whose contention relies on its claim that our daily lives are somehow affected by the relative positions of celestial objects.

Let’s explore why astrology is redundant in today’s era due to its unscientific nature and psychological effects.

We need to realize that refuting the claims made by astrologers is unlikely. In case an astrologer’s prediction does not translate into reality, there is always an alternative explanation. The concept of falsifiability comes in here. If a prediction does come true, there is no proof that it came true for the reasons put forth by the astrologer, implying that it can not be verified. Hence, the explanation of an astrologer can neither be verified or falsified.

According to the website Astrotheme, early astrologers used “Predictive Measures” like solar and lunar configurations and the progression of celestial objects to make predictions. These predictive measures are identical to those used today. There has been no progress in the field. Astrology even tries to explain human behavior by relating it to celestial phenomena and the position of these objects in outer space. These celestial bodies are light years away from us and hence can’t have any real impact on the life on earth; much less change our mental, physical and social state.

There isn’t any proof that the explanations that astrology puts forth are true, which again according to Kuhn’s work, render a theory irrelevant. Astrology suggests a linear relationship between the individual psyche and lifestyle and the cosmos. The class 8 NCERT science textbook mentions the possible interaction between two bodies to be a gravitational force, which at the calculated distance is negligible. Moreover, there is no proof that this force can pose any psychological effects.

Another reason that astrology cannot be considered a science is the fact that it is not Parsimonious, it postulates entities or forces which are not necessary to explain the phenomena in question. By definition, controlled and repeatable experiments need to support any scientific argument. Hence, in no way of the definition, can astrology be referred to as a science.

One may argue how astrology serves as a support system, gives hope to people who have none. Most people who visit an astrologer feel more satisfied and benefited. It claims to provide at least some answers to questions that don’t seem to have any answers. Astrology gives fake assurance. People tend to only keep in mind the few times that an astrologer’s predictions came true and overlook all the times when they didn’t. It is comforting when a man looks at you and assures you that all the celestial bodies you see are working together to decide the course of your life. It is a fake assurance as it has no real basis. The predictions are almost always very vague and hence so reassuring.

The earlier eras’ belief in astrology is justified, due to a lack of alternative explanations. Today, however, we have better tools, instruments and overall better means of confirming or negating theories. Astrology can be negated based on the very system it defines for itself, taking a step back from the scientifically aligned arguments. Predictions lie at the core of any astrological system. At the same time, it provides alternate explanations when a previous claim is proven to be incorrect. This implies that every event has multiple possibilities. Therefore, the “prediction” and “certainty” aspect of astrology depends solely on probability. This contention is quite subtle, as even if we assume that what astrologers claim that celestial objects do affect us, the very notion that astrology still can’t predict the outcome, reduces the claim of astrology as a belief system.