Test 1 (ch 1-7) Flashcards
determinism (ch1)
belief that everything that occurs does so because of known or knowable causes and if those causes were known in advance an event could be predicted with complete accuracy. if the causes of an event were known, the event could be prevented by preventing its causes. the knowledge of an event causes allows the prediction and control of the event
indeterminism (ch1)
even though determinism is true, attempting to measure the causes of something influences those causes, making it impossible to know them with certainty. heisenbergs uncertainty principle
non-determinism (ch1)
the belief that human though or behavior is freely chosen by the individual and is therefore not caused by antecedent physical or mental events
principle of falsifiability (ch1)
Popper’s contention that for a theory to be considered scientific it must specify the observations, that, if made, would refute the theory. to be considered scientific, a theory must make risky predictions
paradigms (ch1)
viewpoint shared by many scientists while exploring the subject matter of their science. a paradigm determines what constitutes legitimate problems and the methodology used in solving those problems
normal science (ch1)
Kuhn, the research activities performed by scientists as they explore the implications of a paradigm
anomalies (ch1)
persistent observations that cannot be explained by an existing paradigm. eventually cause one paradigm to displace another
epistemology (ch1)
study of the nature of knowledge
anthropomorphism (ch2)
projection of human attributes onto nonhuman things
animism (ch2)
the belief that everything in nature is alive
vitalism (ch1)
the belief that life cannot be explained in terms of inanimate processes. life requires a force that is more than the material objects or inanimate processes in which it manifests itself
Zeno’s paradox (ch2)
assertion that in order for an object to pass from point a to point b, it must first traverse half the distance between those two points, and then half of the remaining distance, etc. this process must occur an infinite number of times, so an object could never logically reach point b
inductive definition (ch2)
technique used by socrates that examined many individual examples of a concept to discover what they all had in common
skepticism (ch3)
belief that all beliefs can be proved false; to avoid frustration of being wrong, it is best to believe nothing
cynicism (ch3)
the belief that the best life is one lived close to nature and away from the rules and regulations of society
parsimony (ch1)
problem with paradigms; explain a lot with a little
Occam’s razor(ch3)
belief that of several, equally effective alternative explanations, the one that makes the fewest assumptions should be accepted
positivism (ch4)
the belief that only thos objects or events that can be experienced directly should be the object of scientific inquiry, avoids metaphysical speculation
induction (ch4)
the method of reasoning that moves from the particular to the general. after a large number of individual insances are observed, a theme or principle common to all of them might be inferred. does not start with some assumption, proceeds from particular to the general
deduction (ch4)
the method of reasoning by which conclusions must follow from certain assumptions, principles, or concepts. if there are five people in a room, one can deduce that there are also four. proceeds from the general to the particular
Cartesian Dualism (ch4)
some natural interaction (mechanistic), mind housed in the brain but controls body through pineal gland
primary qualities (ch4)
attributes of physical objects: size, shape, number, position, and movement or rest
seconday qualities (ch4)
those apparent attributes of physical objects that in fact exist only in the mind of the perceiver; experiences of color, sound, odor, temp, taste
monads (ch6)
Leibniz; the indivisible units that compose everything in the universe. characterized by consciousness; inert matter possesses only dim consciousness and then increased ability-plants, animals, humans, god. think as clearly as is capable of doing
petites perceptions(ch6)
Leibniz; perception that occurs below the level of awareness because only a few monads are involved
noble savage (ch7)
rousseau’s term of a human not contaminated by society. live in accordance with true feelings, not selfish, live harmoniously with other humans
social contract (ch7)
trade off between needs of society and freedom of individual
passions vs emotions (ch5)
hume; all humans have the same passions (emotions) but in different patterns, which determine character OR
Spinoza-emotions from pleasure/pain, passions are out of control emotions
simple ideas (ch5)
Raw data from sense
complex ideas (ch5)
configurations of simple ideas
associationism (ch5)
the belief that the laws of association provide the fundamental principles by which all mental phenomena can be explained
mental physics (ch5)
the process by which individual sensations can combine to form a new sensation that is different from any of the individual sensations that constitute it; Mill-all ideas reduced to simple ones