Pseudoscience and the Claim of Practical Utility
The Case of Thomas Erikson's Surrounded by Idiots
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20143555 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kaisa Luoma (0009-0003-8609-0536, Tampere University Tampere Finland, corresponding author), Ilmari Hirvonen (0000-0002-2164-3326, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 92 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Theoria (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0040-5825 • E-ISSN: 1755-2567 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/theo.70076 |
| OpenAlex | W7134179338 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 39 |
It has been suggested that, by definition, pseudoscientists must assert that their theories are scientific or represent the best available knowledge. However, in business consultation and self‐help literature, pseudoscientists do not often make such strong claims. Instead, they commonly appeal to the practical utility of their theories. We argue that what nevertheless makes such theories pseudoscientific is some association or connotation with science. In addition, we suggest that the concept of social pseudotechnology can function as a useful tool in the theoretical examination of the claimed functionality of these self‐help and working life practices. This concept allows for the recognition that there are several possible alternative explanations for their alleged success. Due to this underdetermination, a vulgar pragmatist argument along the lines ‘It works, so it must be true’ is unjustified. We examine and illustrate these issues through the pseudoscientific DISC or DISA personality classification system and Thomas Erikson's bestseller Surrounded by Idiots (2019). We argue that since Erikson's book and DISA analyses are used to solve practical problems, and not just to describe the world, they are best understood as social pseudotechnologies. We outline six alternative social mechanisms that could explain the potential functionality of these social pseudotechnologies without their underlying pseudotheory being correct
Appeal · Argument (complex analysis) · Connotation · Function (biology) · Pragmatism · Pseudoscience · Skepticism · Embodied and Extended Cognition · Information Systems Theories and Implementation · Social Power and Status Dynamics
How to Critique Authoritarian Populism
Saving the Modern Soul
Violence and the Sacred
Concepts of Epistemic Justification
Cruel Optimism
With all this Pseudoscience, Why so Little Pseudotechnology
Graded epistemic justification
Feminist Thought
On Bullshit
Dissecting the Social
Making sense of social research
The Social Construction of What
Technology as Applied Science
How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, Not Engaged Argument
Believing Is Seeing
Causal Mechanisms in the Social Sciences
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |