Deck 2: Philosophical Issues

Question 1

Observational evidence alone does not warrant a universal conclusion. Thus, though every observed swan is white, there is no basis for saying that all swans are white. Such a contention is found in the work of an important philosopher of science by the name of ____________.

A)Thomas S. Kuhn
B)Paul Feyerabend
C)Karl Popper
D)William James

Answer 1

Karl Popper

Question 2

The idea that there are many separate real things (e.g., a real mind, a real body, a real God, a real material world, and so on) is most consistent with

A)attributive pluralism
B)ontological pluralism
C)epiphenomenalism
D)interactionism

Answer 2

ontological pluralism

Question 3

Psychogeny can be defined as the study of

A)the origin of the psyche
B)materialist mind-brain positions
C)double-aspect monism
D)the origin of the mind-brain debate

Answer 3

the origin of the psyche

Question 4

Psychogenic identity theory maintains that

A)psyche is instilled in the biological substrate at a given point in time
B)the psychically endowed biological substrate is identical with the conscious adult
C)the psyche does not change qualitatively across the lifetime of the individual
D)all of the above

Question 5

Psychogenic emergentism is the belief that

A)psyche is instilled in the organism at one point in time
B)psyche develops with the developing biological organism
C)the instilled psyche is identical with the conscious adult
D)all of the above

Question 6

A central problem with explanations by comparison is

A)the risk of overgeneralization
B)that humans lack confidence in analogies
C)that differences between ideas or concepts may be overemphasized
D)all of the above

Question 7

The term epistemology is derived from the Greek episteme, which means

A)to value highly
B)to exist
C)to understand, know
D)to be skeptical

Question 8

The term a priori refers to

A)that which is derived from experience
B)knowledge that is acquired through learning
C)self-evident truths known through intuition
D)the nature of being

Question 9

The term a posteriori refers to

A)that which is derived from experience
B)the study of problem solving
C)self-evident truths known through intuition
D)the nature of being

Question 10

The empiricist, unlike the nativist, believes that

A)all perceptions are learned or derived from experience
B)we discern many truths through intuition alone
C)a posteriori knowledge is relatively unimportant
D)there are a great many self-evident truths

Question 11

The nativist believes that perceptual abilities

A)are learned or derived from experience
B)are learned through interaction with others
C)learned after birth are relatively unimportant
D)are operational from birth

Question 12

According to the text, each of the following terms refers to abilities, or beliefs about abilities, that are built into living systems, EXCEPT

A)a priori knowledge
B)instinct
C)empiricism
D)nativism

Question 13

According to the text, the method of _________ is surely the most common method of assessing truth.

A)rationalism
B)authority
C)empiricism
D)pragmatism

Question 14

Knowledge, according to empiricism, is based on facts presented through

A)observation and experience
B)intuition
C)instinct
D)authority

Question 15

The term rationalism comes from the same Latin root as

A)logic
B)intuition
C)reason
D)mathematics

Question 16

Aestheticism emphasizes

A)an active mind
B)dependence on sensory experience
C)the belief that the principles of beauty are applicable to other arenas of thought
D)the cash value of an idea

Question 17

Pragmatism emphasizes the _____ of an idea.

A)absolute truth
B)intuitive success
C)importance of authoritarian validation
D)cash value or workability

Question 18

Some philosophers have argued that mental processes are produced by brain processes, but are nevertheless qualitatively different from brain processes. Such a position is called

A)emergentism
B)interactionism
C)psychophysical parallelism
D)attributive pluralism

Question 19

One of the more difficult problems associated with psychophysical parallelism is that

A)it fails to specify a source of interaction between mind and body
B)it implies a kind of preestablished harmony
C)it fails to show mind emerges from body
D)it agrees in an uncanny way with common sense

Question 20

According to Popper, a theory should

A)survive over time
B)be falsifiable
C)have intuitive appeal
D)meet an aesthetic criterion

Question 21

The term paradigm as used by _____ refers to ______.

A)Popper . . . anarchy in science
B)Kuhn . . . conventional ways of solving problems
C)Feyerabend . . . normal science
D)Desartes . . . the hypothetico-deductive method

Question 22

According to Kuhn, a shift in scientific view marked by a radical new and more successful organization of the world is

A)normal science
B)a paradigm
C)a scientific revolution
D)all of the above

Question 23

Which of the following has argued for an anarchistic epistemology marked by the belief that there is no such thing as a unified and unchanging scientific method.

A)Paul K. Feyerabend
B)Thomas Kuhn
C)Karl Popper
D)Francis Bacon

Question 24

Domino A impacts domino B and B falls over. According to Aristotle, domino A is the ___________ cause of the fall of B.

A)formal
B)efficient
C)final
D)material

Question 25

An airplane could be constructed of appropriate materials and have an adequate propulsion system, but if the wing or some other part were not shaped appropriately, the plane would not fly. The importance of the shape of the plane is close in meaning to Aristotle's ________ cause.

A)material
B)final
C)teleological
D)formal

Question 26

The final cause, according to Aristotle, refers to

A)that which immediately sets a thing in motion
B)the shape or identifying features of an object of interest
C)the purpose or end for which a thing was intended
D)free will

Question 27

The term teleology refers to

A)the formal cause
B)purpose or design
C)the energy that sets a causal chain in motion
D)the technical study of religion

Question 28

The view that any design in nature is immanent in nature is found in ___________, whereas the view that any design in nature is the work of a designer is found in ________.

A)intrinsic teleology . . . extrinsic teleology
B)extrinsic teleology . . . intrinsic teleology
C)intrinsic teleology . . . formal cause
D)extrinsic teleology . . . formal cause

Question 29

Psychological determinism is the belief that

A)there are causes, known or unknown, for every behavior or experience
B)some events may really be random
C)humans freely determine their own choices
D)all of the above

Question 30

The contemporary status of the free will-determinism debate in psychology is best characterized as

A)abandoned due to its irrelevance to the discipline
B)focused on physiological determinants of intentions
C)resolved in favor of determinism due to recent advances in technology and neuroimaging tools
D)resolved in favor of free will due to recent advances in technology and neuroimaging tools

Question 31

The term ontology refers to

A)the study of the limitations of human knowledge
B)the study of values
C)the study of the nature and relations of being
D)the study of causality

Question 32

Materialism is the belief that

A)mind is the primary material of the universe
B)matter makes up everything
C)mind interacts with material
D)all of the above

Question 33

According to idealism

A)material reality is the basis of all science
B)language is the basis of all science
C)the mental world or the world of experience is the basis of all science
D)science studies only the physical world

Question 34

Mind is a kind of overflow or by-product of brain activity, but mind has no causal efficacy. Such a contention is most consistent with

A)interactionism
B)epistemology
C)ontological pluralism
D)epiphenomenalism

Question 35

According to the text, the commonsense position with respect to mind and body is known as

A)interactionism
B)psychophysical parallelism
C)emergentism
D)epiphenomenalism

Question 36

Strong emotions are more likely to be conditioned to __________ as a way of knowing.

A)authority
B)pragmatism
C)empiricism
D)rationalism