Terms for Final

Question 0

How do pseudo-scientific hypotheses protect themselves from being testable?

Answer 0

Vagueness—If a statement is sufficiently vague, it will be impossible to verify or falsify it.
Ad hoc exceptions—a hypothesis that makes exceptions every time it meets counter examples.

Question 1

Pseudo-science

Answer 1

Pseudo-science is fake science.

What distinguishes a pseudo-science is that it claims the status of science while lacking its substance.

Question 2

Scientific method

Answer 2

Also known as Inductivism. What distinguishes science from non-science is a distinctive method.

Question 3

Controllability

Answer 3

Varying only one factor at a time to determine its effect.

Question 4

Measurability

Answer 4

Measuring the relevant variables. This adds precision and objectivity to the experiment.

Question 5

Repeatability

Answer 5

The ability for others to repeat the experiment and confirm the results. This ensures objectivity.

Question 6

Observation

Answer 6

Making observations and recording data during an experiment.

Question 7

Problems with observation

Answer 7

Selectivity
Expectations
Expert seeing
The observer effect

Question 8

Hypothesis

Answer 8

An idea or guess that tries to explain the observations.

Question 9

Problems with hypothesis

Answer 9

Confirmation bias
Background assumptions
Argumentum ad ignorantiam
Under-determination

Question 10

Prediction

Answer 10

How a phenomenon should “act” according to the hypothesis.

Question 11

Law

Answer 11

A statement based on repeated experimental observations that describes some aspects of the universe
However, there is the problem of induction.

Question 12

Theory

Answer 12

Explains and unifies various laws in terms of some underlying principles. A good theory explains why the laws are the way they are and provides a focus for further research.

Question 13

Confirmation bias

Answer 13

People tend to look for evidence that confirms their beliefs and overlook evidence that goes against them.

Question 14

Falsification

Answer 14

A theory that explains everything explains nothing.
According to Popper, there’s no such thing as a true statement, and scientists should spend their time trying to prove their hypotheses are false.
Any theory that resists our best efforts to falsify it should be provisionally accepted as the best we have for the time being.

Question 15

Paradigm

Answer 15

An overarching theory shared by a community of scientists, which is used to makes sense of some aspect of reality.

Question 16

Propaganda

Answer 16

Information used to persuade, not inform.
Intentionally one-sided
Often trades on emotion (hate, fear, pride)
Political purpose that justifies distorting the truth

Question 17

Primary and secondary sources

Answer 17

Primary source—one that is written by someone who was there at the time.
The ‘bedrock of history’
Secondary source—a later, second-hand account of what happened.
To have any authority they must ultimately be grounded in primary sources.

Question 18

Problems with primary sources

Answer 18

Fallible eyewitness
Social bias
Deliberate manipulation

Question 19

Bias

Answer 19

Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.
Reasons why someone might think that history is more prone to bias than the natural sciences:
Topic choice bias
Confirmation bias
National bias

Question 20

Economic determinism theory

Answer 20

This theory claims that history is determined by economic factors, and its most famous exponent was Karl Marx.
According to Marx, it is not great individuals but rather technological and economic factors that are the engines for historical change.

Question 21

Great person theory

Answer 21

This theory holds that the course of history is mainly determined by great individuals.

  Collingwood drew particular attention to the importance of empathy and trying to understand a situation in the same way that a historical agent would have understood it.

Question 22

Chance theory

Answer 22

Accidents/small things
Chance events
Some people concluded that there is no meaning in history and it is governed by chance.

Question 23

River of history theory (Hegel)

Answer 23

You are floating down a portion of the river of history.
You can make limited choices, but ultimately the River Defines Who You Are.
As we float down the river, things will be resolved through Dialectic (spiral movement).
Thesis & Antithesis
Struggle, debate
Eventually come together
Synthesis

Question 24

Paradox of aesthetic judgment

Answer 24

On one hand, we take seriously the idea that there are standards of aesthetic judgment and that some judgments are better than others;
On the other hand, we say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is no accounting for tastes.

Question 25

Aesthetics

Answer 25

A branch of philosophy which studies beauty and the arts.

Question 26

Intention of the artists

Answer 26

According to the attention criterion, something is a work of art if it is made by someone with the intention of evoking an aesthetic response in the audience.

Question 27

Quality of the work

Answer 27

A second criterion for distinguishing art is the intrinsic quality of the work and artist’s skill.

Beauty – content and form. A great work of art is a perfect marriage of form and content.

Question 28

Forgeries

Answer 28

The problem of forgeries is also relevant.
• If a painting is any good, why should its value depend on who painted it?
• Why is an exact copy of a painting worth far less that the original? Can this difference be justified, or is it simply an irrational prejudice?

Question 29

Response of the spectators

Answer 29

The third criterion for distinguishing between art and non-art is the response of spectators.
A work of art requires an appreciative spectator in order to complete it.
We might appeal to expert opinion to help us decide which works of art are genuinely worthwhile.

Question 30

Originality

Answer 30

A work of art may have a great deal of technical competence but lack originality. This is a criticism of the quality criterion.

Question 31

Disinterest

Answer 31

What distinguishes aesthetic judgments from personal taste is that they are disinterested. This means that we should try to go beyond our individual tastes and preferences so that we can appreciate a work of art from a more universal standpoint.

Question 32

Art as imitation/Mimesis

Answer 32

The imitation or copy theory says that the purpose of art is to copy reality. This is also known as the mimetic theory of art.
Since it requires great skill to paint well or to describe something accurately in words, the arts have for much of their history been driven by the desire to achieve a perfect likeness.
More sophisticated version of copy theory is thinking of art not is a lavish reproduction, but as a creative reinterpretation of reality. This says that great art helps us see the world with new eyes by drawing attention to previously noticed features of reality.

Question 33

Art as communication

Answer 33

It seems natural to think of an artist a trying to communicate a message to a spectator.

The art-as-communication theory has two dimensions:
• A horizontal one which enables us to explore the breadth of human experience (broaden scope of experience).
• A vertical one which enables us to explore its depth (concerned with communicating emotion).

Question 34

Art as discovered and/or invented

Answer 34

Generally, while scientific laws are discovered, works of art are invented, but this is not absolute.
Works of art not more precious than works of science, but there is an impersonal aspect to scientific discoveries that is lacking in the case of arts.

Question 35

Art as education

Answer 35

According to a third theory, the arts have a moral and educative role.
The arts broaden our awareness, develop our empathy, and sharpen our moral intuitions.

Question 36

Paradox of fiction

Answer 36

The fact that fiction is sometimes able to reveal deep truth about the human condition.