HU3700: Exam 1
Fall, 2005
Answer the following questions. Read all directions and questions carefully. Illegible
answers will receive no credit.
Part I. Fill-in-the-blank: For each of the following sentences, find the item in the
attached list that best completes the sentence. Note that not all items in the list will be
used. Some items may be used to answer more than one question. Give your answers by
writing the letters corresponding to the correct answers to the questions—1. S, 2. MM,
etc. Write your answers in the space provided at the end of the exam questions. (2 points
each)
1. According to the ________, it is impossible to falsify any theory conclusively
because some erroneous initial condition or auxiliary hypothesis may be responsible
for the false experimental prediction.
2. According to ________(person), Marxist theories of history, Freudian psychoanalytic
psychology, and Adlerian psychology are all examples of pseudoscience.
3. To say that a statement is ________ is to say that one can conceive of observation
statements that would be inconsistent with that statement.
4. A(n) ________ is a statement that is highly likely to be true given the background
information.
5. A(n) ________ is a description of the relevant facts of a situation to which a law or
theory is being applied in order to yield an explanation or prediction.
6. In Aristotle’s universe, the ________ is the part of the universe that lies inside the
moon’s orbit.
7. In the ________ model, the sun rather than the earth lies at the center of the universe.
8. According to the ________, if one has observed a large number of A’s that have the
property B, the observations have occurred under a wide variety of conditions, and no
A’s have been observed not to have the property B, then it is legitimate to infer that
all A’s have the property B.
9. In Aristotle’s universe, the region containing the orbits of the planets, the sun, and the
moon are pervaded by an incorruptible ________.
10. A valid deductive argument in which every premise is true is a(n) ________ argument.
11. ________ is the view that scientific knowledge can be logically derived from
observable facts by inductive reasoning.
12. A(n) ________ is a law or theory other than the law or theory being tested that must
be assumed in order to predict observations or experimental results.
13. A(n) ________ is something that is claimed to be a science but really isn’t a science.
14. In Aristotle’s universe, each object in the sub-lunar region has a tendency to move in
a straight line toward its ________.
15. To say that an observation statement might turn out to be false is to say that it is
________.
16. The ________ is the question of how to justify inductive reasoning.
17. A(n) ________ of a theory is a change that has no testable consequences that were not
already testable consequences of the original theory.
18. According to ________ (person), the same basic laws of physics apply to both the superlunar and sub-lunar regions of the universe..
19. ________ is the area of philosophy that is concerned with the conditions and limits of
human knowledge.
20. According to _________ (thesis), both falsification and confirmation of scientific
theories play important roles in science.
Part II. Answer two questions in Set A and two questions in Set B below (for a total of 4
questions). Indicate clearly which questions you are answering. Make your answers
concise but complete. Avoid irrelevant discussion. Say exactly what you mean. Do not
expect the grader to interpret your writing or to “read between the lines.” Write your
answers on separate sheets. (15 points each)
Set A
1. What are the reasons for believing that empirical facts are not entirely independent of
theory? How can the acceptability of experimental results sometimes depend on a
theory? Give an illustration of such dependence.
2. Compare and contrast explanation and prediction in science. In what respects are they
similar? In what respects are they different? What type(s) of reasoning are involved in
each? Give examples of each (explanation, prediction).
3. What exactly is inductivism? What are the main objections to that view? Be specific.
Set B
4. How do falsificationists attempt to distinguish science from pseudoscience? What is
the difference between saying that a statement is falsifiable and saying that it is false?
Illustrate with an example.
5. What are the main differences between sophisticated falsificationism and the original
(Popperian) version of falsificationism? What difficulties with the original version
was sophisticated falsificationism intended to correct? Explain how it attempted to
correct them. Be specific.
6. What was the Copernican revolution? When did it occur? Why did it take so long for
it to be completed? How do critics of falsificationism use the history of the
Copernican revolution to make their case? Be specific.
Below is the list of terms for Part I. Note that the items are in alphabetical order.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
ad hoc modification
analyze
argument
Aristotle
auxiliary assumption
bold conjecture
causation
cautious conjecture
confirmation
conjecture
Copernican
revolution
L. Copernicus
M. deductive
N. dogmatism
O. Duhem/Quine thesis
P. empiricism
Q. epicycle
R. epistemology
S. ether
T. evaluate
U. experiment
V. experimental
outcome
W. experimental setup
X. explanation
Y. extraneous
Z. fact
AA.
BB.
fallible
falsifiability,
degrees of
CC. falsifiable
DD. falsificationism
EE.
falsificationism
FF.
falsificationist
criterion of
science
GG. form
HH. Galileo
II.
geocentric
(Ptolemaic)
JJ.
heliocentric
(Copernican)
KK. hypothesis
LL.
induction
MM. inductivism
NN. initial condition
OO. Kepler, Johannes
PP.
law
QQ. logic
RR. natural place
SS.
Newton, Isaac
TT.
objective
UU. observation
statement
VV. parallax
WW.
XX.
YY.
ZZ.
perceptions
Popper, Karl
prediction
principle of
induction
AAA. problem of
induction
BBB. pseudoscience
CCC. relevant fact
DDD. revisable
EEE. scientific
progress
FFF. senses
GGG. singular
statement
HHH. sophisticated
falsificationism
III.
sound
JJJ.
sub-lunar region
KKK. super-lunar
region
LLL. theory
MMM. theory-dependent
NNN. Tower argument
OOO. universal
statement
PPP. valid
QQQ. verification
Part I Answers:
1.
6.
11.
16.
2.
7.
12.
17.
3.
8.
13.
18.
4.
9.
14.
19.
5.
10.
15.
20.