Phi 30 Introduction to Philosophy of Science
Name
Quiz 1
Please answer each item with either ‘True’ or ‘False’.
1. The geocentric view is the view that geology is better than all other scientific fields.
2. When James Watson (co-discoverer of the structure of DNA) said that the Ancient
Greeks “didn’t have experiment”, he must have meant that their arguments did
not involve observation.
3. A teleological explanation is an explanation which makes reference to an end, goal,
or natural place.
4. Aristotle argues that Earth remains at the center of the universe because at the
center it is equidistant from all points at the extremity and therefore has no more
reason to go in one direction than in any other.
5. The Principle of Sufficient Reason states that nothing happens without a sufficient
reason.
6. Aristotle rejects the Indifference Theory (of Anaximander) by pointing out that
some things, such as fire, are observed to flee from the center of the universe.
7. Aristotle believes that rocks fall to Earth because they have spirits inside them,
they know where they belong, and they desire to return home.
8. Aristotle and Ptolemy hold that if Earth moved, then objects flung directly upward
would land elsewhere.
9. Aristotle holds that the Earth rotates, and that because of this the natural state of
earth (rocks, dirt clods) is circular.
10. Ptolemy holds that the occasional retrograde motion of the planets can be
explained by their moving on “epicycles” which themselves are attached to
“deferents” which are centered on the center of the universe.
11. Galileo argues that a stone dropped from the mast of a sailing ship will not land at
the foot of the mast because the ship will have sailed on past the location from
which the stone was released.
12. Galileo argues that if a perfectly smooth ball on a perfectly smooth plane is set in
motion, it will continue in that state of motion so long as it is supported (by the
smooth plane) and not interfered with.
1. The geocentric view is the view that geology is better than all other scientific
fields.
2. When James Watson (co-discoverer of the structure of DNA) said that the Ancient
Greeks “didn’t have experiment”, he must have meant that their arguments did
not involve observation.
3. A teleological explanation is an explanation which makes reference to an end,
goal, or natural place.
4. Aristotle argues that Earth remains at the center of the universe because at the
center it is equidistant from all points at the extremity and therefore has no more
reason to go in one direction than in any other.
5. The Principle of Sufficient Reason states that nothing happens without a sufficient
reason.
6. Aristotle rejects the Indifference Theory (of Anaximander) by pointing out that
some things, such as fire, are observed to flee from the center of the universe.
7. Aristotle believes that rocks fall to Earth because they have spirits inside them,
they know where they belong, and they desire to return home.
8. Aristotle and Ptolemy hold that if Earth moved, then objects flung directly upward
would land elsewhere.
9. Aristotle holds that the Earth rotates, and that because of this the natural state of
earth (rocks, dirt clods) is circular.
10. Ptolemy holds that the occasional retrograde motion of the planets can be
explained by their moving on “epicycles” which themselves are attached to
“deferents” which are centered on the center of the universe.
11. Galileo argues that a stone dropped from the mast of a sailing ship will not land at
the foot of the mast because the ship will have sailed on past the location from
which the stone was released.
12. Galileo argues that if a perfectly smooth ball on a perfectly smooth plane is set in
motion, it will continue in that state of motion so long as it is supported (by the
smooth plane) and not interfered with.
False
False
True
False
True
True
False
True
False
True
False
True