The Paradox of Scientific Criteria: A Farce of Self-Deceptive Double Standards

Abstract

Science is widely regarded as the paradigm of truth-seeking, and its proclaimed criteria of “testability, falsifiability, and reproducibility” are used to judge all forms of knowledge. However, when applied to itself, these criteria lead to a fatal paradox: mathematical axioms (e.g., “1+1=2”) cannot be empirically tested and are therefore excluded from “science” by the scientific community; yet all physical formulas, chemical equations, laws of conservation of mass and energy, and other scientific theories logically depend on these axioms. Through simple analogies such as “making gold jewelry from non‑gold metal” and “prescription vs. medicine,” as well as a reductio ad absurdum (if 1+1≠2, the entire scientific edifice collapses), this paper systematically exposes the inherent contradictions and double standards of the scientific criteria. On one hand, the scientific community refuses to acknowledge the scientific status of its own meta‑hypotheses; on the other hand, it accepts as scientific the theories derived from those very hypotheses. This is a quintessential case of self‑deception and epistemic hegemony. The paper critiques the pseudo‑scientific nature, double standards, hypocrisy, and thuggishness of scientism, calling for science to return to humility and to recognize its own boundaries and meta‑assumptions.

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