The Age of PROGRESS and MODERNITY, Explained [AP Euro Review—Unit 7 Topic 5]

What is the core principle of Positivism?

• Truth is primarily found through divine revelation.

• All knowledge is subjective and relative to individual experience.

• Rational conclusions must be scientifically verifiable or mathematically quantifiable.

• Human behavior is governed by irrational impulses and instincts.

How did the rise of Positivism contribute to the concept of Relativism?

• It emphasized that all truths are divinely revealed and therefore subjective.

• It promoted the idea that scientific and mathematical truths are the only objective truths, making other forms of truth relative.

• By rejecting a single overarching truth, it suggested that all truth is dependent on individual perspectives and contexts.

• It argued that human reason is inherently flawed, leading to diverse and conflicting truths.

Which philosopher argued that human life and decisions are primarily driven by passions and instincts rather than pure reason?

• Henri Bergson

• Sigmund Freud

• Max Planck

• Friedrich Nietzsche

How did Max Planck's work in quantum mechanics challenge the prevailing Newtonian view of the physical world?

• It proved that the universe was entirely governed by divine intervention, not scientific laws.

• It demonstrated that atoms behave erratically and unpredictably, rather than following rigid, predetermined processes.

• It introduced the concept of absolute truth, contradicting the idea of scientific relativism.

• It showed that the physical world is entirely subjective and cannot be objectively measured.