How can a scientific theory be proved true?

Answer 1

Bluntly, the answer is no. There are serious philosophical and logical problems with some of the underlying assumptions that one has to make in order to conclude that a theory is true. They are numerous and complex, and some study in the philosophy of science will bring some of this in perspective. Basically, all of science amounts to a heuristic-- a system that aids in the solution of various kinds of problems, but which is itself unverifiable and unprovable as valid. This should not be troubling. As long as people exist and remain curious about the world, they will ask questions and develop various ways to approach the answsers. In the long run, concepts with greater and greater predictive strength will develop, and they will lead to more questions. Ideally, some observable progress (at least from the point of view of the practitioners) will follow. People will, of course, ask questions based on what they can observe, and they will make conclusions based on their heuristic methods of observation. But absolute truth will ultimately elude us.

One example of this heuristic is the idea that a theory must be falsifiable in order to be 'scientific' (as opposed to non-scientific). There are some serious reasons to doubt that falsifiability is a valid demarcation between science and non-science. One idea is that in order to claim that a theory is falsifiable, one must appeal to another theory, or set of heuristic observations, in order to do so. Since no theory can be proven to be absolutely true, what happens to the theory that falsifiability properly demarcates between science and non-science? This theory itself is part of the unvalidatable heuristic.

For those of us who are deeply curious, this is reason for intense excitement. There will probably always be a reason to suspect (and sometimes even discover) new and world-changing views of reality. A good example is the progression of theories from Aristotle to Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and Bohr and the world of Quantum theory and mechanics. Theories always represent a creative tension between one theory and another theory/theories, NOT a tension between a theory and a prevailing body of actual fact. Everything is questionable.

Alternative2:

A scientific Theory can be "true" in the sense that it describes and predicts the way nature behaves. For example the Conservation of Electromagnetic Fields, 0=XB, decribes the behavior of electromagnetic fields: 0 = [db/dr -DEL.B, dB/dr + DEL b] = [db/dt - DEL.E, dB/dt + DEL e].

The Book of Nature is written in mathematics and Mathematical Theories can truly describe nature, and in so doing are "True" Theories.

Alternative 3:Whether expressed in mathematic terms or not all "true" theories are called Laws.

Answer 2

Scientific theory must pass through process of validation. It may not be able to prove all theory throughout but part of them would be validated to be true. Some theory might fail with time progress because of the theory's projection may not be validated in the past but later can be validated from the progress of tool and equipment.

Answer 3

This question could be interpreted in two ways

1. How can a theory be proved

2. How can science itself be proved

Number two is easy to answer: Science can be proved by simple existence of its laws. Number 1 however is more difficult. If sufficient proof is found to back up a theory it is generally known as a law, but I suppose it could be speculated that no matter how much proof is found there is still no way to absolutely completely know for sure that a theory is correct or not. For example many scientists were sure General Relativity was the correct theory of the Universe but then String Theory came along and dashed Einsteins hopes. But to answer your question: scientific theories cant be proved completely true but there are theories that are so well tested that they almost certainly are true.

Answer 4

Using strictly scientific definitions, no, a theory cannot be proven true. We shall examine why:

Firstly, a hypothesis is an explanation of some phenomenon or group of facts, and can be tested repeatedly. This needs to be understood as the basis for the theory.

A theory is a hypothesis which has successfully made correct predictions, and moreover has been supported by additional evidence which both fits within the hypothesis (can be explained by it) and does not refute it.

To be proven true requires that the conclusion follow logically from the assumptions. For example, the commonly-used "Bill is a man. Men are mortal. Therefore, Bill is mortal."

A theory cannot be proven true, because it does not draw from assumptions, instead relying on a statement and then allowing reality to either allow or deny that statement's correctness. For example, we see Bob petting a cat and say "Bob likes cats". Later, we ask Bob whether he does indeed like cats. Of course, the first time we ask him he might say yes, but the second time say no (or vice versa). Hence, the conclusion does not follow from any specified assumption, and cannot be always true.

A theory's validity relies on how well its core statement fits with reality and whether any part of reality denies it.

Answer 5

a scientific theory is proven through observations and experiments
In the scientific method, a theory is a hypotheses that has some experimental support. No scientific theory is ever considered "proven"; instead it can be said that it has not yet been falsified by experiment. In general, the theory should be able to predict the outcome of an experiment that is set up to test it. If the results of the experiment agree with the prediction of the theory, the experiment supports the theory. It may still be possible to construct a set of conditions under which the theory fails to make a successful prediction, in which case the theory would be modified to account for those conditions.

Answer 6

First, you would conduct an experiment, if it worked, you then write a paper on it and conduct it to a scientific community it would then be proven as a law of science.

Answer 7

A scientific theory is proved by experiments.

Answer 8

Yes, of course - by experiments.