Define ‘Impossibility’ for Theoretical Paradigms

Clarify and formalize what it means for a scientific paradigm—specifically, theories that seek to explain dark phenomena by modifying gravity—to be deemed impossible, and establish rigorous methodological criteria by which such impossibility could be demonstrated.

Background

In critiquing eliminative reasoning invoked to justify dark matter (e.g., Holmes’s dictum), the author argues that applying elimination at the level of paradigm would require proving that modified gravity theories are impossible. The author notes that such proof has not been provided and raises a conceptual uncertainty about the very meaning of deeming a paradigm ‘impossible’.

Resolving this methodological and semantic question is essential for assessing eliminative arguments in the dark matter versus modified gravity debate and for determining legitimate grounds on which entire paradigms might be ruled out.