Editing Ad hoc hypothesis (section)

{{Short description|Addition to a theory to prevent falsification}}
{{other uses|Ad hoc (disambiguation)}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Ad hoc'' hypothesis}}
In [[science]] and [[philosophy]], an '''''ad hoc'' hypothesis''' is a [[hypothesis]] added to a [[theory]] in order to save it from being [[falsified]].

For example, a person that wants to believe in [[leprechaun]]s can avoid ever being proven wrong by using ''ad hoc'' hypotheses (e.g., by adding "they are invisible", then "their motives are complex", and so on).<ref name=Stanovich2007>Stanovich, Keith E. (2007). How to Think Straight About Psychology. Boston: Pearson Education. Pages 19-33</ref>

Often, ''ad hoc'' hypothesizing is employed to compensate for anomalies not anticipated by the theory in its unmodified form.