Inductivism vs Falsificationism

Which of the following best describes inductivism?

• Testing theories by attempting to falsify them

• Deriving general laws from repeated observations

• Using mathematical models to predict scientific outcomes

• Accepting scientific theories based on authority

What is the key principle of falsificationism?

• Scientific theories must be proven true by repeated observations

• Scientific theories must be formulated using mathematical logic

• Scientific theories must be testable and able to be proven false

• Scientific theories must be accepted if they are widely believed

What is a major flaw of inductivism, as discussed by Chalmers?

• It does not allow for scientific progress

• It assumes that past observations guarantee future outcomes

• It ignores historical scientific discoveries

• It requires too many experiments to be valid

Which philosopher’s work heavily influenced the critique of inductivism?

• Karl Popper

• David Hume

• Thomas Kuhn

• Isaac Newton

According to Chalmers, what is a major flaw of inductivism?

• It assumes that past observations guarantee future outcomes

• It does not use experiments to test ideas

• It does not consider mathematics in science

• It was never widely used in scientific practice

Which of the following statements would Karl Popper agree with?

• The more observations confirm a theory, the more likely it is to be true

• A single contradictory observation can be enough to reject a theory

• Theories should be accepted as true once they reach a consensus

• Theories are only valid if they come from inductive reasoning

What challenge does the Duhem-Quine thesis pose to falsificationism?

• It proves that all scientific theories are false

• It argues that theories cannot be tested in isolation

• It supports the idea that induction is superior to falsification

• It states that falsificationism works in all scientific fields

Why does Chalmers argue that falsificationism is an improvement over inductivism?

• It focuses on confirming theories instead of disproving them

• It recognizes that scientific progress comes from testing and rejecting false ideas

• It eliminates the need for experimental testing

• It allows scientists to accept theories without skepticism