FSU PHIL110 2020 February Quiz Chapter 9 Latest

PHIL110 CRITICAL THINKING, ONLINE

Quiz Chapter 9

Question 1Inference to the best explanation is a form of inductive reasoning in which we reason from premises about a state of affairs to…

  An explanation for the state of affiars

  A deductive conclusion

  An enumerative induction

  An analogical induction

 Question 2Before evaluating a theory, we should make sure that it meets the minimum requirement of

  Consistency

  Adequacy

  Conservatism

  Simplicity

 Question 3A theory that is internally consistent is free of

  contradiction

  grammatical errors

  inductive arguments

  spelling errors

 Question 4The standards used to judge the worth of explanatory theories are known as

  the criteria of adequacy

  the criteria of consistency

  the criteia of internal consistency

  the criteria of external inconsistency

 Question 5If there is some way to determine whether a theory is true or false, it is said to

  Testable

  Simple

  conservative

  fruitful

 Question 6A fruitful theory is one that

  makes novel predictions

  makes many assumptions

  makes few assumptions

  makes diverse claims

 Question 7In inference to the best explanation, if an explanation is the best among competitors, then the argument is

  inductively strong

  inductively weak

  deductively strong

  deductively weak

 Question 8If a theory is externally inconsistent, we have reason to believe that it is

  false

  true

  cogent

  sound

 Question 9If a theory is untestable, then it is

  worthless

  fruitful

  simple

  strong

 Question 10The simplest theory is the one that

  makes the fewest asumption

  makes the most assumption

  makes complicated assumptions

  makes no assumptions

 Question 11A theory that fits with our established beliefs is

  conservative

  simple

  teatable

  fruitful

 Question 12A theory that fits with our established beliefs is

  eligible for further consideration

  immune from further testing

  deductively sound

  deductively valid

 Question 13An untestable theory

  cannot explain anything

  increases our knowledge about the world

  is the best theory imaginable 

  can explain everything

 Question 14The fact that Einstein’s theory could explain everything that Newton’s theory could explain plus many phenomena that Newton’s theory could not explain is indication of the theory’s

  Scope

  Fruitfulness

  Simplicity

  Conservatism

 Question 15The main problem with most conspiracy theories is that they fail the criterion of

  Simplicity

  Conservatism

  Testability

  Fruitfulness

 Question 16Other things being equal, theories that successfully predict previously unknown phenomena are

  more credible than those that don't

  are less credible than those that don't

  are equally credibe as those that don't

  are equally incredible as those that don't

 Question 17Paul had a headache and went to see his doctor. Paul was informed by his physician that his (Paul's)  headache was caused by an invisible, undetectable spirit. The physician's explaination fails the

  testability test

  fruitfulness test 

  simplicity test 

  conservatism test

 

Question 18Which of the following is true of the Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE)?

  We have to look at the competition when determining which explanation to accept or reject

  We can reject an explanation simply because it is weak

  We can accept an explanation simply because it is strong

  It is not necessary to look at the competition when determining which explanation to accept or reject.

 Question 19The Inference to the Best Explanation is an example of

  Inductive argument

  Deductive argument

  Neither deductive nor inductive

  Both deductive and inductive

 Question 20In the Inference to the Best Explanation, the best explanation is the one that

  is extremely likely to be true

  is certainly to be true

  is less likely to be true

  guarantees the truth of the explanation