An alternative or opposing theory proposed to challenge or disprove another theory.
From counter- + theory (from Greek theoria, meaning contemplation or speculation). A modern term for competing scientific or intellectual explanations.
Science progresses through countertheory—Einstein's relativity was a countertheory to Newtonian mechanics, quantum mechanics countered classical physics, and now physicists seek countertheories to both. The history of science is really the history of increasingly sophisticated countertheories.
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