Epistemology

Question 1

epistemology

Answer 1

Knowledge is derived through sense experience by the objective
disinterested researcher who then applies logics and mathematics in order to make
sense of the sense experience.

Question 2

ontology

Answer 2

There is no fundamental difference between social science and natural
science both study a reality that is concrete and countable

Question 3

homo faber

Answer 3

Beings who make things; and the only species that creates their own
environments rather than merely adapting to them

Question 4

homo sapiens

Answer 4

Beings with intellectual capacity

Question 5

Reflecting on Heidegger’s carpenter example and the interplay between
theoretical knowledge and practical experience in engineering, how does this
relationship influence the approach to problem-solving and innovation in the
field?

Answer 5

Problem-solving in engineering requires both theory and practice for effective
solutions

Question 6

The field of Engineering is varied, ranging from aerospace engineering to
biomedical engineering to business engineering. What activity unites these
different fields and “makes them” engineering fields? *

Answer 6

problem-solving through design and innovation to create
functional and efficient systems

Question 7

What is the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Answer 7

Scientists discover and explain “what is” (descriptive), while engineers design and
create “what could be” (normative)

Question 8

What is the problem of demarcation?

Answer 8

Problem of distinguishing between science and non-science

Question 9

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 9

A testable and falsifiable proposed explanation for a phenomenon

Question 10

What is empiricism?

Answer 10

The only source of knowledge in our senses

Question 11

What is the problem of induction?

Answer 11

That even if all our observations/experiments have shown the same, we can’t be sure
that the next observations/experiments will show the same

Question 12

What characterizes deductive arguments?

Answer 12

The conclusion follows logically from the premises

Question 13

What characterizes inductive arguments?

Answer 13

They can only support the conclusion by some probability.

Question 14

What does it mean that science is cumulative?

Answer 14

That science over time provides better and better explanations of what can be
observed

Question 15

What role does verification play in positivism?

Answer 15

Verification plays the role of demarcation in positivism meaning that theories must be
verifiable to be scientific.

Question 16

How does science progress according to Popper?

Answer 16

By learning from the flaws of older falsified theories, science put forth better and better
new theories.

Question 17

What is falsification?

Answer 17

The idea that observations can never prove a (true) theory but observations can falsify a
wrong one.

Question 18

What is Popper’s main argument against verificationism?

Answer 18

In order for a theory to be considered scientific, it must, in principle, be able to be
falsified by means of observation and experiments

Question 19

What is, according to Popper, a pseudo-science?

Answer 19

Pseudo-science is characterized by the fact that its theories cannot be falsified

Question 20

What are the steps in the Hypothetic-Deductive Method?

Answer 20

A hypothesis is put forward
 Consequences and results are deduced from this hypothesis
 By means of observation and/or experiments these findings are sought falsified, thus
testing the hypothesis
 If the hypothesis is not rejected, you try again!

Question 21

What is the core idea of social constructivism?

Answer 21

Describes meanings as being socially constructed, as opposed to the individual
construction of meaning in constructivism.

Question 22

What is a paradigm according to Kuhn?

Answer 22

A paradigm is a worldview shared by a scientific community

Question 23

What is normal science in Kuhn’s terminology?

Answer 23

It is how science is carried out within a commonly accepted paradigm.

Question 24

Why do the sciences enter a crisis according to Kuhn?

Answer 24

Because the anomalies cannot be explained or excused any longer

Question 25

How do the different paradigms relate to one another according to Thomas Kuhn?

Answer 25

Two paradigms cannot be compared, and one cannot be said to be more true than
another.

Question 26

There are 4 components of a moral problem. Which?

Answer 26

Factual Issues
Conceptual Issues
Application Issues
Moral Issues

Question 27

What is the creative middle-way approach to ethical issues?

Answer 27

The attempt to find a solution that satisfies all moral dilemmas/problems

Question 28

What is meant by each of the four types of moral judgements: Permissible,
Impermissible, Obligatory, Supererogatory?

Answer 28

Permissible: Allowed but not required - A neutral act
 Impermissible: Not allowed act
 Obligatory: Must do act
 Supererogatory: Not required but praiseworthy if one does it

Question 29

What are the three levels of moral judgments?

Answer 29

Particular actions
General Practices or Classes of Actions
Very General Moral Principles or Criteria

Question 30

What is the main principle of utilitarianism?

Answer 30

A belief that you should act in such ways that the outcomes will achieve the greatest
level of happiness for yourself and others.

Question 31

What is a cost-benefit analysis in an ethical context?

Answer 31

Approach to find what maximizes well-being is cost-benefit analysis
 Convert negative and positive utilities into monetary terms

Question 32

What does it mean that a moral agent has autonomy?

Answer 32

It means that moral agent can formulate goals or purposes of his or her own

Question 33

What is the golden rule?

Answer 33

Treat others as you would like others to treat you (positive or negative directive form)
 Do not treat others in ways that you would not like to be treated (negative or prohibitive
form)

Question 34

What is the distinction between negative rights and positive rights in an ethical
context?

Answer 34

Negative rights: What should not be done against us
 Positive rights: What can we demand that others/society give us?

Question 35

What is virtue ethics?

Answer 35

Fundamental principle of virtue ethics is “Act in the way the good or virtuous person
would act in the circumstances”.
 A kind of nature or backdrop that we simply follows

Question 36

In virtue ethics, what does it mean to find the middle position (or “mean”)
between vices?

Answer 36

The attempt to find a solution that satisfies all moral dilemmas/problems
 Cowardice – brave – foolhardiness

Question 37

What does the term “anarchy” refer to in a scientific context?

Answer 37

Anything that works is fine

Question 38

What does it mean that the world has been disenchanted?

Answer 38

To be disenchanted is to lose the sense of awe, commitment, and loyalty that is a
necessary part of a meaningful existence.

Question 39

What characterizes Technological Determinism?

Answer 39

The drive and force of new inventions are so strong that nobody can stem against it –
practical or by law

Question 40

What is Social Construction of Technology?

Answer 40

o The idea that technology development is influenced by social, cultural, and political factors.

Question 41

According to Volti what kind of curve does the growth of technological advance
often take?

Answer 41

S-shaped curved

Question 42

When concepts from technology are used as metaphors how can feedback be
applied?

Answer 42

feedback as a principle of a self-regulating marked