BIS FINAL
A scientific theory can be proven to be absolutely true, but never absolutely false
False
People's emotional response to a claim determines the truth or falseness of the claim
False
Personal opinions are just like scientific theories and should be given equal status in an argument
False
Ways of knowing are mutually inclusive which is to say that for the purposes of science and religion, for example, they must agree with one another
False
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, claims of psychic powers should be taken seriously by science because of the quantity and quality of evidence that has been collected through repeated research
False
In class, science was discussed as a weaving together of inductive and deductive reasoning with empirical evidence to casually explain and make predictions about nature
True
Our culture can be viewed as a huge and collective dialogue in which we determine our collective hierarchies of values
True
Scientific theories exist on a continuum of probability from absolute falseness to a high probability of being true, but never achieve absolute truth
True
The ends of the sciences seek absolute truth, but cannot achieve absolute truth, and ultimately deal in probability statements
True
The ideas of the ancient greek philospher aristotle dominanted philosophical and scientific views of nature until the late renaissance
True
The more times a theory is shown to be true by repeated tests or evidence, the more probably it is true
True
The more times a theory is shown to be true by repeated tests or evidence, the more probably it is true.
True
The period of history called the "enlightenment" was partly characterized by anti-authoritarianism and resulted, in among other events, the founding of the united states
True
The power of the sciences come from making predictions about nature, either forward or backward in time
True
To suggest a claim is "just a theory" is to suggest that it's less likely to be true
True
When a scientist goes public to popularize their science, they may damage their professional standing among peers
True
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience. "falsifiability" is a foundation to science and suggests that scientific theories must be disprovable in principle or such theories are not truly scientific.
True
because science is "self-correcting", means that theories will change over time as new and better evidence is collected (self-correcting means verification by enumeration)
True
"deism" suggests that a supreme being(s) or god(s) does (do) intervene in human history
false
All ways of knowing and areas of study must always agree with one another
false
Global climate change is not true according to the consensus of scientists
false
Having a Ph.D is ample evidence that an expressed theory by that Ph.D must be true
false
If you think it, it must be true
false
Lack of evidence necessarily disproves a scientific theory
false
Science is just as much as faith-based way of knowing as are religions
false
Science is well served when competing theories look at the same evidence
false
The author of critical thinking science and psuedoscience is skeptical about global warming
false
The popular press or news channels should always be trusted about what is reported about science
false
The well educated and intellectuals do not have an ethical duty to engage with society because society gave them the opportunity
false
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, "cryptozoology" studies "hidden creatures" and has successfully discovered animals whose current existence is not supported by theory or evidence
false
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, "pareidolia" is the tendency to find meaningful patterns in the randomness of noise (actually patternicity)
false
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, barney and betty hill claimed to have been captured by bigfoot creatures.
false
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, homeopathy, acupuncture and therapeutic touch are the result of well-established and evidence-based medical science
false
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, religion and science are incompatible and should have no contact
false
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, the energy described by Qi, Ch'i, or Ki is what makes acupuncture an evidence-based medical practice
false
according to your professor, certain birds known as storks deliver human babies, and you should believe this because your professor said it
false
acknowledged expertise in one field of study necessarily suggests expertise in other fields
false
determining who is an authority is best based on who has a popular media presence
false
evidence of authority can be found in an author's book if thousands of footnotes are used
false
if everyone believes something to be true, it must be true
false
if you believe it, it must be true
false
if you feel it, it must be true
false
popular or public agreement is all that is needed for a scientific theory to be true or false
false
science can accomodate super-natural explanations
false
science has the capacity to eventually explain everything
false
science is a democratic process
false
single weather events, like hurricane sandy, cannot be said to be proof of a theory, like global climate change
false
the extreme complexity of a scientific topic, like climatology, means that scientific theories should be distrusted
false
there is only one and well defined "scientific method"
false
when compared to religion, science is less progressive
false
"Confabulation" is the tendency to change memories to fit personal desires
true
"Methodological naturalism" does not commit a scientist to atheism
true
"scientifism" is used as an insult against those who suggest science is the only truth.
true
A couple of problems with considering the universe like a finely tuned watch is that we know a watch was designed to have a purpose outside of itself, that of measuring time, and we can certainly identify it as an object designed by human contrivance which we cannot do by looking at the universe
true
All areas of study have an epistemological foundation
true
Frames of reference may cause us to experience the same event differently, but the laws of physics remains the same within comparative frames of reference
true
Ideas like things such as hammers and screwdrivers have different purposes, which is to say that art and science have different purposes, expressing their values and meanings differently
true
In the dialogue that is culture, some voices might shout down other voices, meaning the voices of science and sometimes not heard
true
Myths are stories we tell ourselves that give us a view of reality, and although they may be powerful forces in cultures, they need not to be true in a scientific or historical sense
true
Peer review means that experts in a field of study review the claims made by others with same or similar expertise
true
Science can be used for immoral purposes and although science can study and inform ethics, ethics are not determined by science, but by the social contract, usually expressed in politcs
true
Science cannot prove that metaphysical subjects and objects exist
true
Science is a human activity and therefore a social activity bound to the positive and negative aspects of social interaction such as egoism and greed.
true
The "demarcation problem" is about what can be said to be genuinely scientific and what is not
true
The bible clearly says that the earth does not move and the sun moves across the sky, implying the sun must orbit the earth and the earth does not rotate. (implied through stories, but not clearly stated)
true
The real power science has is to make predictions; otherwise, it's reduced to descriptions
true
To live an intellectual life requires nurturing the mind throughout life and not just in school
true
a theory might rise to the level of a "law" based on repeated verification, but never reach absolute truth.
true
according to critical thinking science and pseudoscience, extraterrestrial life is probable according to the drake equation, but evidence is lacking as measured so far by the SETi project
true
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, "cold reading" is a deceptive psychological tactic to make people believe in psychic abilities
true
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, as an alternative medical practice, chiropractice care is based on the psuedoscientific theory of subluxation
true
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, randomized, placebo-controlled and double blind test protocols are essential to evidence based medicine
true
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, the national academy of science's official position is that science cannot investigate the supernatural
true
according to critical thinking science and psuedoscience, the original medical research linking autism with vaccines had to be withdrawn because of fradulent research
true
all ways of knowing have evolved over time
true
differing frames of references might show us different views of a phenomenon, but the physics describing the phenomenon will be the same within comparitive any frames of reference
true
einstein said that you should take your thoughts seriously because they make you who you are
true
every word you know has a history
true
facts are mutually agreed upon experience, but we can be fooled
true
for the greatest expanse of time in human history, people were certain that the sun orbits the earth
true
healthy skepticism hopes in the truth whereas cynicism has given up on the truth
true
ignorance of science has been detrimental to society
true
it's a false dichotomy to think the either truth is absolute or any opinion is just as valid
true
it's a popular misconception that controversies within science are proof that science cannot be trusted
true
keeping an open mind does not mean keeping an endlessly open mind in the face of well-reasoned arguements with evidence
true
like all areas of study, science depends on honesty, but occasionally scientists are dishonest
true
looking for agreement among experts is a path to determining the trustworthiness of any claim, not just scientific claims
true
philosophers and neuroscientists suggest that the essence of human consciousness is the balance between our passions and reason
true
pseduoscience means false science
true
science seeks to disclose the reality behind perceptions, because our perceptions can be wrong, such as when we say the sun rises.
true
scientific predictions about nature are more trustworthy than religious statements about nature because science requires evidence and religions do not
true
scientists have an ethical duty to explain what they do and why
true
there are no "'laws of nature" because it's we humans who write the theories to suggest what we think is happening in nature
true
there is a discernable "anti-intellectual" tendency in the U.S
true
According to critical thinking science and pseudoscience, "regression to the mean" suggests that many tests will tend toward a statistical mean that may disprove an initial extraordinary test result
True
According to the confirmation bias, perhaps most people don't actually want to be informed, but only have their preconceived views of the world defended and verified
True
According to the critical thinking science and psuedoscience, carl sagan's assertion that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" is true, especially when conforting pseudoscience claims.
True
Evolution is both a theory and fact, which is to say a fact that in the sense that organism have changed over time and a theory that a variety of natural mechanisms have been proposed to casually explain this
True
unlike popular sources for information, peer review of published materials is one way intellectual scholarship remains honest and theories are examined for correspondence with evidence
true
whenever possible, you should always examine how well an argument is reasoned and related to the evidence
true
