Bourgeois pseudoscience

Soviet Communist concept

Bourgeois pseudoscience (Russian: буржуазная лженаука) was a term of condemnation in the Soviet Union for certain scientific disciplines that were deemed unacceptable from an ideological point of view[1][2] due to their incompatibility with Marxism–Leninism. At various times pronounced "bourgeois pseudosciences" were: Mendelian genetics,[notes 1] cybernetics,[3] quantum physics,[citation needed] theory of relativity,[citation needed] sociology[citation needed] and particular directions in comparative linguistics (the now-debunked Japhetic theory of Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr, which was also refuted by Stalin in "Marxism and Problems of Linguistics").

The term was not used by Stalin himself,[citation needed] who rejected the notion that all sciences must have a class nature. Stalin removed all mention of “bourgeois biology” from Trofim Lysenko’s report, The State of Biology in the Soviet Union, and in the margin next to the statement that “any science is based on class” Stalin wrote, “Ha-ha-ha!! And what about mathematics? Or Darwinism?”[4] The term or its synonyms was used it in the 1951 and 1954 editions of the Short Philosophical Dictionary: "Cybernetic is a reactionary pseudoscience originated in the United States... A form of modern mechanicism.",[3] "Eugenics is a bourgeois pseudoscience",[5] "Weismannism-Morganism \- bourgeois pseudoscience, designed to justify capitalism".[6] Today, most scholars agree in characterizing eugenics as rooted in pseudoscience,[7][8] albeit without the "bourgeois" qualifier.

Psychology was declared a "bourgeois pseudoscience" in People's Republic of China during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).[9] Furthermore, sociology was banned there in 1952,[10] and it remained banned for over 30 years.[11]

## See also

[edit]

* Repression of science in the Soviet Union
* Cybernetics in the Soviet Union
* Censorship in the Soviet Union
* Soviet historiography
* Politicization of science

## Notes

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1. ^ See Lysenkoism and its impact in the other countries of the Soviet Bloc

## References

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1. ^ Loren R. Graham (2004) Science in Russia and the Soviet Union. A Short History. Series: Cambridge Studies in the History of Science. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-28789-0.[page needed]
2. ^ Mark Walker (2002) Science and Ideology. A Comparative History. Series: Routledge Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-27122-6.[page needed]
3. ^ a b "Кампания против кибернетики в СССР"
4. ^ Liu, Yongsheng; Li, Baoyin; Wang, Qinglian (September 2009). "Science and politics". EMBO Reports. 10 (9): 938–939. doi:10.1038/embor.2009.198. PMC 2750069. PMID 19721459.
5. ^ "Евгеника".
6. ^ "Вейсманизм - морганизм".
7. ^ Worrall, Simon (24 July 2016). "The Gene: Science's Most Dangerous Idea". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
8. ^ White, Susan (28 June 2017). "LibGuides: The Sociology of Science and Technology: Pseudoscience". Library of University of Princeton. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
9. ^ Wang, Zhong-Ming (January 1993). "Psychology in China: A Review Dedicated to Li Chen". Annual Review of Psychology. 44 (1): 87–116. doi:10.1146/annurev.ps.44.020193.000511.
10. ^ Feuchtwang, Stephan; Bruckermann, Charlotte (13 July 2016). Anthropology Of China, The: China As Ethnographic And Theoretical Critique. World Scientific Publishing Company. p. 22\. ISBN 978-1-78326-985-3.
11. ^ Li, Cheng (1 October 2010). China's Emerging Middle Class: Beyond Economic Transformation. Brookings Institution Press. p. 62\. ISBN 978-0-8157-0433-1.

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Lysenkoism

Lysenkoists|

* Trofim Lysenko
* J. D. Bernal
* Nikita Khrushchev
* Joseph Stalin
* VASKhNIL

Dissidents|

* Wacław Gajewski
* Georgii Karpechenko
* Zhores Medvedev
* Georgii Nadson
* Hans Stubbe
* Tan Jiazhen
* Nikolai Vavilov

Concepts|

* Heredity
* Heritability
* Hybridization
* Inheritance of acquired characteristics
* Lamarckism
* Mendelian inheritance
* Vernalization

Soviet policies|

* Bourgeois pseudoscience
* Collectivization in the Soviet Union
* Pavlovian session
* Suppressed research in the Soviet Union
* Politicization of science

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Pseudoscience

List of topics characterized as pseudoscience

Terminology|

* Cargo cult science
* Charlatan
* Crank
* Fringe theory
* Fringe science
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Pseudohistory
* Pseudomathematics
* Junk science
* Paranormal
* Pathological science
* Quackery
* Snake oil
* Superseded scientific theory
* True-believer syndrome
* Voodoo Science

Topics
characterized as
pseudoscience|

| Medicine|

* Acupuncture
* Aromatherapy
* Adrenal fatigue
* Alternative medicine
* Anthroposophic medicine
* Applied kinesiology
* Ayurveda
* Bates method
* Biorhythms
* Bloodletting
* Body memory
* Chiropractic
* Chromotherapy
* Correactology
* Cryonics
* Crystal healing
* Cupping
* Detoxification
* Colon cleansing
* Doctrine of signatures
* Doktor Koster's Antigaspills
* Ear candling
* Electromagnetic hypersensitivity
* Energy medicine
* Fad diet
* FasciaBlaster
* Germ theory denialism
* HIV/AIDS denialism
* Homeopathy
* Humorism
* Iridology
* Leaky gut syndrome
* Lunar effect
* Macrobiotic diet
* Magnet therapy
* Miracle Mineral Supplement
* Naturopathy
* Palmistry
* Panchagavya
* Patent medicine
* Phrenology
* Primal therapy
* Radionics
* Reiki
* Traditional medicine
* Traditional Chinese medicine
* Trepanning
* Vertebral subluxation
* Wind turbine syndrome
* Young blood transfusion

|

Social science|

* 2012 phenomenon
* Ancient astronauts
* Arabian Judah theory
* Catastrophism
* Conspiracy theory
* 5G conspiracy
* 9/11 conspiracy theories
* Chemtrail conspiracy theory
* Climate change denial
* COVID-19 misinformation
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Conversion therapy
* Generational theory
* Generationism
* Strauss–Howe generational theory
* Hollow Earth theory
* Indigo children
* Japhetic theory
* Mediumship
* Nazi archaeology
* Nibiru cataclysm
* Parapsychology
* Pseudoarchaeology
* Pseudohistory
* Genocide denial
* Historical negationism
* Holocaust denial
* Pseudolaw
* Recovered-memory therapy
* Past life regression
* Scientific racism
* Aryan race
* Melanin theory
* Myers–Briggs Type Indicator
* Enneagram of Personality

Physics|

* Anti-gravity‎
* Cold fusion‎
* Faster-than-light travel‎
* Perpetual motion‎
* Quantum mysticism
* Reactionless drive
* Dean drive
* EMDrive
* Teleportation‎
* Tractor beam
* Water-fueled car

Other|

* Alchemy
* Aquatic ape hypothesis
* Astrology
* Biodynamic agriculture
* Biological transmutation
* Creation science
* Cryptozoology
* Dianetics
* Auditing
* Dowsing
* Electronic voice phenomenon
* Eugenics
* Facilitated communication
* Feng shui
* Flat Earth theory
* Graphology
* Intelligent design
* Laundry ball
* Law of attraction
* Levitation
* Lysenkoism
* Numerology
* Orgone
* Polygraph
* Pseudoscientific metrology
* Rapid prompting method
* Statement analysis
* Ufology
* Voice stress analysis
* Water memory

Promoters of
pseudoscience|

* Sucharit Bhakdi
* Del Bigtree
* Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff
* Brigitte Boisselier
* Rhonda Byrne
* Robert Charroux
* Deepak Chopra
* Clonaid
* Vernon Coleman
* Ignatius L. Donnelly
* Gaia, Inc.
* Max Gerson
* Nicholas Gonzalez
* Goop (company)
* Graham Hancock
* David Icke
* William Donald Kelley
* Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
* Corentin Louis Kervran
* The Light (newspaper)
* Mike Lindell
* Jenny McCarthy
* Joseph Mercola
* Judy Mikovits
* Ministry of Ayush
* Theodor Morell
* Hans Alfred Nieper
* Mehmet Oz
* Raël (Claude Vorilhon)
* Robby Starbuck
* Randolph Stone
* Paul Joseph Watson
* Andrew Wakefield

Related topics|

* Bogdanov affair
* Bourgeois pseudoscience
* Demarcation problem
* Scientific method
* Suppressed research in the Soviet Union

Resources|

* Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
* Cults of Unreason
* An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
* Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science
* Fortean Times
* James Randi Educational Foundation
* Quackwatch
* Skeptical Inquirer
* The Demon-Haunted World
* The Natural History of Quackery
* The Psychology of the Occult
* The Ragged Edge of Science
* The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
* The Skeptic's Dictionary

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