Deck 11: Explorations in Inductive Reasoning: The Logic of Science

Question 1

If a prediction is derived from a hypothesis and the prediction is verified, we say the hypothesis has been "confirmed."

Answer 1

True

Question 2

If a prediction is derived from a hypothesis and the prediction is not observed or does not come true, we say the hypothesis has been "disconfirmed."

Answer 2

True

Question 3

If a hypothesis is confirmed, then it must be true, with complete certainty.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

If a hypothesis is disconfirmed, then it must be false, with complete certainty.

Question 5

If observable predictions cannot be derived from a hypothesis, then it is not a scientific hypothesis.

Question 6

If a hypothesis is scientific, then it is possible to derive observable predictions from it.

Question 7

The germ theory of disease has saved hundreds of millions of lives.

Question 8

Semmelweis applied critical thinking to the study of disease.

Question 9

Semmelweis rejected the demon theory of disease on the grounds that it conflicted with his Catholic beliefs.

Question 10

The scientific method is infallible-when followed properly it cannot possibly result in error.

Question 11

Scientific theories are ultimately justified on the basis of the same criteria that govern inference to the best explanation.

Question 12

Einstein claimed that science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.

Question 13

Imagination may be used when scientists formulate a hypothesis.

Question 14

An empirical hypothesis is one that generates observable predictions.

Question 15

The first germ theories of disease originated in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Question 16

One of the hypotheses tested by Semmelweis was the hypothesis that overcrowding causes childbed fever.

Question 17

One of the hypotheses tested by Semmelweis was the hypothesis that foul air causes childbed fever.

Question 18

One of the hypotheses tested by Semmelweis was the hypothesis that mental illness causes childbed fever.

Question 19

One of the hypotheses tested by Semmelweis was the hypothesis that childbed fever is caused by too much fat in the diet.

Question 20

One of the hypotheses tested by Semmelweis was the hypothesis that lack of exercise causes childbed fever.

Question 21

Which of the following is not one of the criteria for evaluating scientific theories?

A) Simplicity
B) Interestingness
C) Explanatory scope
D) Explanatory power
E) Conservatism

Question 22

Which of the following is not one of the criteria for evaluating scientific theories?

A) Simplicity
B) Internal consistency
C) External consistency
D) Gut intuitions
E) Conservatism

Question 23

In each case, which of Mill's Methods is being used?
-A patient keeps getting sick when he eats fast foods, so the doctor has the patient eliminate all greasy foods. The symptoms disappear. Then greasy foods are added back into the diet, one at a time. When the cheeseburger is added back, the symptoms reappear. The doctor concludes that the cheeseburger caused the reaction.

Question 24

In each case, which of Mill's Methods is being used?
-A philosophy teacher has five students doing extremely poorly on tests. All five have different socioeconomic backgrounds, all have different religious beliefs, and so on. However, all the students had in common one thing: All are weak readers. The teacher concludes that an inadequate reading ability is part of the cause of the problem.

Question 25

In each case, which of Mill's Methods is being used?
-A cook tries adding five different ingredients to different batches of cookies in an attempt at discovering a new taste. Ingredients are added one at a time per batch. All the added ingredients that contain chemical X produce cookies that are as hard as rocks. The other chemicals do not produce this result. The cook concludes that the chemical X makes the cookies hard.

Question 26

In each case, which of Mill's Methods is being used?
-During the late 1980s, persons from different parts of the city developed the same ear problem. Investigators discovered that all had been using the same brand of ear plugs. The investigators concluded that the ear plugs caused the problem.

Question 27

In each case, which of Mill's Methods is being used?
-A chemist performs the following experiment. Every time she combines an acid and chemical X, the mixture explodes. But when chemical X is mixed with any other chemical, the mixture does not explode. She concludes that the acid is necessary for the explosion.

Question 28

Use Mill's Methods to draw a conclusion.
-Six times I ate a hotdog with mustard on it, and each time I got sick. But when I ate a hotdog without mustard, I did not get sick.

Question 29

Use Mill's Methods to draw a conclusion.
-Every time I drink a milkshake, I get dizzy.

Question 30

Use Mill's Methods to draw a conclusion.
-We bake a cherry pie, and it turns out lousy. So we do everything as before, except we change the brand of cherries. The next pie still turns out awful. Again we do everything as before, except we change the temperature. This time the pie comes out good.