RAS declared astrology a pseudoscience

Experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences called astrology a pseudoscience, recommending that citizens “not use the services of astrologers when making important life decisions,” and the media to refuse advertising and popularization of astrological services. A specially issued memorandum from the commission against pseudoscience at the academy emphasizes that astrology is a phenomenon of mass culture that does not meet scientific criteria. Sociologists explain the popularity of astrology by the fact that it helps to cope with anxiety. And the astrologers themselves note that they are “accustomed to attacks” and claim that the recommendations of the Russian Academy of Sciences will not affect the work of professionals.

On Monday, the Commission for Combating Pseudoscience under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences published “Memorandum No. 3: Astrology”: “The commission states that the statements of astrologers have no scientific basis. Astrology can serve as entertainment, but if astrological claims and methods are presented as objective or scientific, they should be characterized as pseudoscientific.”

The commission has several incriminating memoranda to its credit. So, published in February 2017 memorandum No. 2 was dedicated to homeopathy. In it, experts recommended that the Russian Ministry of Health withdraw all homeopathic medicines from state clinics, and that the antimonopoly service protect citizens from false advertising about the presence of “medicinal properties” in such drugs. After this, discussions were held in a number of departments on the topic of regulating the sale of homeopathy products. The first memorandum of the commission, we note, was devoted to the pseudoscience of dermatoglyphic testing (determining a person’s abilities and susceptibility to diseases using fingerprints).

The popularity of astrology is explained by psychological rather than astrological effects, the Russian Academy of Sciences stated, and experimental tests of astrologers’ statements give negative results.

The Academy emphasizes that astrology itself does not meet the methodological requirements for a scientific discipline. In this regard, the commission to combat pseudoscience advises “citizens not to use the services of astrologers when making important life decisions,” and calls on the media to refuse advertising and popularization of astrological services (in the case of publishing forecasts, it is recommended to add a note that “the information is of an entertaining nature and is not should be used to make important life decisions”). Doctors, psychologists and sociologists, according to representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, should “inform their patients and clients that excessive interest in astrological services can lead to addiction like gambling.” Astrologers are asked to change their profession.

A member of the commission to combat pseudoscience, one of the authors of the memorandum, biologist Alexander Panchin, said that the preparation of the document began about four years ago: “It is not tied to any news feed, but to remind people that astrology is not a science, but an “ideological virus,” spread into popular culture is always useful.” The scientist suggests that one should not expect such a wide response as in the case of homeopathy:

“There is much less direct harm from astrology, but belief in horoscopes brings with it other unscientific beliefs and doubts about real science, which is why anti-vaxxers and supporters of conspiracy theories appear.”

Mr. Panchin believes that the best way to combat pseudoscience is to introduce the basics of studying critical thinking and the scientific method in schools, “because children are taught scientific discoveries, but are not told exactly how scientists made them.” Kommersant’s interlocutor considers a complete ban on astrology unnecessary: ​​“You just need to stop passing it off as science.”

Vice President for Biomedical Research at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, co-founder of the Dissernet project, Mikhail Gelfand, doubts that the proposed measures will be implemented at the state level. “Experience has shown that this topic will attract public attention; moreover, in discussions on this topic it will now be possible to present the reasoned opinion of RAS scientists,” suggests Mr. Gelfand.

Albina Gallyamova, a researcher at the Center for Sociocultural Research at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, explains the popularity of astrology with a “palliative effect.” “Forecasts allow you to cope with difficulties and anxiety, and gain at least some confidence in the future, so there was great interest in the topic in the 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR,” explains the expert. “Now, according to surveys, the popularity of astrology is falling.” Note that according to the latest survey VTsIOMthe percentage of Russians who trust astronomical forecasts has halved over seven years (31% in 2015 versus 15% in 2022).

Mrs. Gallyamova draws attention to the fact that modern astrology is “well encrypted”: “Practices are appearing that are essentially no different from horoscopes, for example, human design or psychomatrix.”

If we take into account the popularity of near-astrological approaches and other practices, “such as tarot cards,” the expert is sure, it will become clear that in recent years the demand for them has increased significantly. “Our research shows that there is no correlation between the level of intelligence and trust in horoscopes, but the higher the level of education, the lower this indicator,” notes Ms. Gallyamova.

Astrologer Natalya Shevchenko found “a number of advantages” in the anti-astrological memorandum: “This will remove the astrological foam in the form of bloggers and armchair experts, because they have little relation to real astrology, and professionals should be engaged in advising people.” According to Mrs. Shevchenko, “the introduction of such measures will have little impact on the work of real professionals and will only turn out to be a plus.” Moreover, Kommersant’s interlocutor recalls that “there have always been attacks on astrology”: “We treat them calmly, and the best defense is to do your job well. Now people have already developed a new norm: they want, along with a family doctor and psychologist, to have their own family astrologer. And at one time psychology was also considered a pseudoscience.”

Polina Yachmennikova