Ch. 1

Question 1

5 methods of acquiring knowledge

Answer 1

Intuition

Authority

Rationalism

Empiricism

The Scientific Method

Question 2

Intuition

Answer 2

When we use our intuition, we are relying on our guts, our emotions, and/or our instincts to guide us.

Rather than examining facts or using rational thought, intuition involves believing what feels true.

The problem with relying on intuition is that our intuitions can be wrong because they are driven by cognitive and motivational biases rather than logical reasoning or scientific evidence.

Question 3

Authority

Answer 3

This method involves accepting new ideas because some authority figure states that they are true.

These authorities include parents, the media, doctors, Priests and other religious authorities, the government, and professors.

While in an ideal world we should be able to trust authority figures, history has taught us otherwise and many instances of atrocities against humanity are a consequence of people unquestioningly following authority.

May mislead.

Nevertheless, much of the information we acquire is through authority because we don’t have time to question and independently research every piece of knowledge we learn through authority.

But we can learn to evaluate the credentials of authority figures, to evaluate the methods they used to arrive at their conclusions, and evaluate whether they have any reasons to mislead us.

Question 4

Rationalism

Answer 4

Rationalism involves using logic and reasoning to acquire new knowledge.

Using this method premises are stated and logical rules are followed to arrive at sound conclusions.

The problem with this method is that if the premises are wrong or there is an error in logic then the conclusion will not be valid.

Also, unless formally trained in the rules of logic it is easy to make an error.

Nevertheless, if the premises are correct and logical rules are followed appropriately then this is sound means of acquiring knowledge.

Question 5

Empiricism

Answer 5

Empiricism involves acquiring knowledge through observation and experience.

We are limited in what we can experience and observe and our senses can deceive us.

Moreover, our prior experiences can alter the way we perceive events.

Nevertheless, empiricism is at the heart of the scientific method. Science relies on observations.

But not just any observations, science relies on structured observations which is known as systematic empiricism.

Question 6

The Scientific Method

Answer 6

is a process of systematically collecting and evaluating evidence to test ideas and answer questions.

One major problem is that it is not always feasible to use the scientific method; this method can require considerable time and resources.

Another problem with the scientific method is that it cannot be used to answer all questions.

Question 7

Science

Answer 7

The systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

Question 8

Features of Science

Answer 8

systematic empiricism.
- refers to learning based on observation, and scientists learn about the natural world systematically, by carefully planning, making, recording, and analyzing observations of it.

empirical questions.
- These are questions about the way the world actually is and, therefore, can be answered by systematically observing it.

public knowledge
- After asking their empirical questions, making their systematic observations, and drawing their conclusions, scientists publish their work.

Question 9

Publication is an essential feature of science for two reasons

Answer 9

One is that science is a social process—a large-scale collaboration among many researchers distributed across both time and space.

Our current scientific knowledge of most topics is based on many different studies conducted by many different researchers who have shared their work publicly over many years.

The second is that publication allows science to be self-correcting.

Individual scientists understand that, despite their best efforts, their methods can be flawed and their conclusions incorrect.

Publication allows others in the scientific community to detect and correct these errors so that, over time, scientific knowledge increasingly reflects the way the world actually is.

Question 10

Pseudoscience

Answer 10

Refers to activities and beliefs that are claimed to be scientific by their proponents—and may appear to be scientific at first glance—but are not.

A set of beliefs or activities can be said to be pseudoscientific if (a) its adherents claim or imply that it is scientific but (b) it lacks one or more of the three features of science.

A set of beliefs and activities might also be pseudoscientific because it does not address empirical questions.

Question 11

falsifiable

Answer 11

A scientific claim that must be expressed in such a way that there are observations that would—if they were made—count as evidence against the claim