Philosophy of science: Practice Questions

• a.

  A cumulative process of knowledge acquisition, where new theories simply add to existing ones.

• b.

  Research conducted within the framework of an established and accepted paradigm.

• c.

  A period of intense debate among competing paradigms, leading to a scientific crisis.

• d.

  A phase characterized by rapid, revolutionary shifts in fundamental scientific theories.

• a.

  Scientific progress is hindered by the lack of sufficient evidence to choose between theories.

• b.

  Evidence is often insufficient to determine the truth of even basic scientific observations.

• c.

  Scientific theories are always fully determined by the available empirical evidence.

• d.

  For any given body of evidence, there can be multiple, logically incompatible theories consistent with it.

• a.

  Its formulation based on inductive reasoning from specific instances.

• b.

  Its ability to be empirically verified through repeated observations.

• c.

  Its capacity to explain a wide range of phenomena without contradictions.

• d.

  Its openness to being proven false through empirical testing.

• a.

  The primacy of empirical observation over theoretical speculation in scientific inquiry.

• b.

  The idea that there are no universal or fixed rules of scientific method, and "anything goes."

• c.

  The necessity of falsification as the sole criterion for scientific progress.

• d.

  The strict adherence to a single, universal scientific method to ensure objectivity.

• a.

  The importance of mathematical models in scientific explanation.

• b.

  Whether scientific theories should be consistent with observational data.

• c.

  The existence and nature of unobservable entities postulated by successful scientific theories.

• d.

  The role of experimentation versus theoretical speculation in scientific inquiry.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.