HU3700 Quiz 1
October 9, 2001
1. According to Kuhn, normal science is a period of activity in which
scientists
A. seek to falsify the theories that they are working with
B. engage in “mopping up” operations
C. are constantly shifting from one paradigm to another
D. are constantly changing their views about proper scientific method
E. none of the above
2. According to Kuhn, the major classes of problems that scientists work on
during a period of normal science is
A. the determination of significant facts—e.g., physical constants
B. the matching of facts with theory
C. the articulation of theory
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
3. According to Kuhn, a puzzle is a problem that
A. has an outcome that is intrinsically interesting and important
B. is assumed to have a solution
C. calls the dominant paradigm into question
D. has multiple correct solutions
E. none of the above
4. According to Kuhn, the commitments that restrict the puzzle-solving
activities of scientists who work within a normal science tradition include
commitments to
A. explicit statements of scientific law
B. preferred types of instrumentation
C. quasi-metaphysical views—e.g., that the physical universe consists
fundamentally of corpuscles
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
5. According to Kuhn, a paradigm in science
A. is a model that scientists seek to replicate exactly
B. is something to be further articulated
C. is nothing more than a fully stated theory
D. consists entirely of quasi-metaphysical presuppositions
E. none of the above
HU3700 Quiz 2
October 16, 2001
1. According to Kuhn, a crisis occurs
A. at the first sign of anomaly
B. whenever a new discovery is made
C. when scientists’ awareness of anomaly is sufficiently longlasting and deeply penetrating
D. when a new theory is proposed
E. none of the above
2. According to Kuhn, a crisis
A. is always occurring during a period of normal science
B. always precedes a paradigm change
C. sometimes precedes a paradigm change
D. never precedes a paradigm change
E. none of the above
3. According to Kuhn, among the paradigm changes that involved
theory change preceded by crisis is the replacement of
A. the geocentric paradigm with the heliocentric paradigm
B. the phlogistic paradigm with Lavoisier’s oxygen paradigm
C. the Newtonian paradigm with Einstein’s relativistic paradigm
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
4. According to Kuhn, during a crisis
A. different versions of the current theory emerge to deal with
troublesome anomalies
B. scientists resist all further articulations of the theory
C. the rules of normal puzzle-solving are strictly enforced
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
5. According to Kuhn, scientists renounce the existing paradigm
A. before any alternative paradigm is available to replace it
B. only if an alternative paradigm is available
C. whenever an anomaly cannot immediately be dealt with
within the existing paradigm
D. as soon as the majority of scientists begin to have doubts about it
E. none of the above
HU3700 Quiz 3
October 18, 2001
1. According to Kuhn, in scientific revolutions
A. for the first time, an area of scientific inquiry acquires a paradigm
B. all scientists in a certain area (e.g., physics) become convinced that
their basic theory is false
C. an older paradigm is replaced at least partially by a new one
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
2. According to Kuhn, scientists’ choices among competing paradigms
A. are usually made on the basis of the “evaluative procedures”
recognized as valid by the current normal science tradition
B. cannot be made on the basis of the “evaluative procedures” of normal
science
C. are always made on the basis of commonly shared epistemological
principles
D. have nothing to do with the anomalies that have accumulated with
respect to the current paradigm
E. none of the above
3. According to Kuhn, a new theory
A. is sometimes invented to resolve anomalies with respect to the current
theory
B. can resolve anomalies with respect to the current only if it is logically
incompatible with the current theory
C. that resolves anomalies with respect to the current theory typically
replaces the current theory
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
4. According to Kuhn, Newtonian physics
A. is a special case of relativistic physics
B. is compatible with relativistic physics
C. is part of the same paradigm as relativistic physics
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
5. According to Kuhn, when a scientific revolution occurs, the new normal
science tradition that emerges
A. is compatible with the normal science tradition that it replaces
B. is incommensurable with the old normal science tradition
C. usually coexists with the old normal science tradition
D. usually shares the same paradigm as the old normal science tradition
E. none of the above
HU3700 Quiz 4
October 25, 2001
1. According to Kuhn,
A. scientists are always fully aware when scientific revolutions occur
B. scientific revolutions are sometimes invisible
C. scientific revolutions can always be predicted in advance
D. scientists’ work is unaffected by scientific revolutions
E. none of the above
2. According to Kuhn, scientists who first embrace revolutionary
discoveries and theories
A. are usually new to the field and uncommitted to the old paradigm
B. are usually the leading scientists in the field that undergoes the
revolution
C. are usually the last to focus on the problem(s) that provoke the crisis
that leads to the revolution
D. are always theoretical rather than experimental scientists
E. none of the above
3. According to Kuhn, scientific textbooks
A. usually represent the history of science accurately
B. often distort the history of science
C. usually discuss the paradigms that dominated earlier normal science
traditions
D. rarely identify the problems that scientists are currently researching
E. none of the above
4. According to Kuhn, the verification and falsification of scientific theories
A. occurs suddenly on the basis of new observation or experimental
results
B. occurs in the absence of competing theories or paradigms
C. occurs entirely because the current paradigm fits, or does not fit, the
facts
D. all of the above
E. none of the above
5. According to Kuhn, the arguments that scientists use in their debate over
competing paradigms
A. operate entirely on the basis of established principles of deductive
logic
B. operate entirely on the basis of established principles of inductive logic
C. operate mainly by (nonrational) persuasion
D. are never effective in convincing scientists to abandon the old
paradigms
E. none of the above