Biology Exam 1

Front 1

What is the difference between and educated person and a knowledgeable person according to Israel Sheffler?

Back 1

1) The knowledgeable person's worldview is unchanged by his knowledge vs. the educated person's worldview is changed to reflect his knowledge.
2) Knowledge is active versus inert.

Front 2

If a person is scientifically literate they have what six capabilities or skills?

Back 2

-1) the ability to describe, explain, and predict NATURAL phenomena.
-2) the ability to read and understand articles about science IN the popular press.
-3) that ability to engage in social conversation about the validity of scientific conclusions.
-4) the ability to identify the scientific issues underlying national and local decisions.
-5) the ability to express positions that are scientifically and technologically informed.
-6) the ability to evaluate the quality of scientific information based on its source and the methods used to used to generate the information (ie generate the results).

Front 3

According to Ernst Mayr, what are the three key differences between scientist and theologians?

Back 3

1) only the natural vs. including the supernatural
2) “truth” is relative vs. truth is absolute
3) our only concern is the material world vs. we are concerned with both the material world and the supernatural realm.

Front 4

Describe a knowledgeable person according to israel Sheffler.

Back 4

A knowledgeable person is someone who knows the correct answers but who's worldview is unaffected.

Front 5

Describe an educated person according to israel Sheffler.

Back 5

An educated person is someone who not only knows the correct answers, but who's worldview is impacted by his knowledge.

Front 6

What are the three "Knows?"

Back 6

1) Know Yourself.
2) Know your World.
3) Know your God.

Front 7

If you have the scientific literacy to know yourself than it will allowed you to ________.

Back 7

Have informed personal decision-making.

Front 8

If you have the scientific literacy to know your world than it will allowed you to ________.

Back 8

1) Be involved in civic & cultural affairs
2) Ensure ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY

Front 9

If you have the scientific literacy to know your God than it will allowed you to ________.

Back 9

1) SURSUM CORDA - have a focus on heaven.
2) SUMMUM BONUM - purpose and value derived from the supreme good (God)
-A) CREATION MANDATES
-B) ADAM'S FIRST ASSIGNMENT

Front 10

What were the two first assignments that God gave to Adam related to?

Back 10

1) Taxonomy
-naming the animals
2) Ecology
-study of the interaction of organisms (ie take care of and rule over creation)

Front 11

What is going on in the case study of the Cane Toads and the sugar cane fields in Florida?

Back 11

Male Cane Toads, Bufos Marinus, are becoming feminized. This is more evident in rural areas which are primarily farming communities.
In the farming communities we see 40% of males are normal and 60% are abnormal. That 60% is subdivided into 40% completely feminized and 20% in the transitional stages.
The change is occurring in the Bidder's Organ, which is related to the appendix. What is happening is the Bidder's Organ is beginning to act like an ovary and is producing eggs.
Because of the positive correlation between the number of feminized toads and number of acres devoted to farming, the belief is that a chemical used in farming is causing the feminization.

Front 12

Pesticide

Back 12

A chemical that kills animals

Front 13

Herbicide

Back 13

A chemical that kills plants.

Front 14

What is the PRIMARY goal of science?

Back 14

To create theories.

Front 15

Theory.

Back 15

An inferred explanation of of some aspect of the natural world.
Also, theories are NOT laws, rather, theories attempt to explain laws.

Front 16

Law.

Back 16

A GENERALIZATION related to the way some aspect of the NATURAL world behaves under certain conditions.

Front 17

Hypothesis.

Back 17

A proposed explanation or prediction, generally lacks evidence or support but it is TESTABLE and potentially FALSIFIABLE.

Front 18

The two key aspects of hypotheses.

Back 18

1) TESTABLE
2) FALSIFIABLE

Front 19

The 5 pillars of science.

Back 19

1) Science is characterized by its demand for empirical evidence for its conclusions.
2) Science is characterized by its demand for logical reasoning.
3) Science has an epistemological framework and includes a set of presuppositions.
4) Science as a human activity has limits.
5) Science takes place within the values and norms of the culture.

Front 20

Epistemology

Back 20

A way to know something.

Front 21

Science's epistemology.

Back 21

Science is characterized by its demand for empirical evidence.

Front 22

Ernst Mayr's 2 axioms of science.

Back 22

1) There is a real world that exists outside of human perception.
2) The world is not chaotic, rather it is orderly.

Front 23

Biology

Back 23

The study of living organisms.

Front 24

Observation

Back 24

Something we observe.

Front 25

Inference

Back 25

The connection of observation to an explanation. The process of arriving at a logical explanation or conclusion from the starting point of observations.

Front 26

Science is a way of knowing that is characterized by what 3 things?

Back 26

1) Forming and testing hypothesis - Hypothetico-deductive method.
2) Use of inference
3) Use of reason to connect observations to explanations.

Front 27

The Methods of Science

Back 27

-observing
-inferring
-proposing ideas
-testing (the experiment)
-examine the different treatments by studying their effects.
-Treatment - independent variable.
-Effect - dependent variable
-Control extraneous variables or confounding variables
-discarding those ideas that fail
-The test for falsifiability

Front 28

Types of variables

Back 28

Independent variables-manipulated variable.
Dependent variables-affected variable.
Extraneous variables-variables which are controlled for but not manipulated.

Front 29

Another type of research design or method

Back 29

Ex Post Facto.
-search for a correlation between two variables.
-make observations and predictions.

Front 30

Correlation

Back 30

The relationship between two variables

Front 31

What is a Positive Correlation

Back 31

When variable X increases, variable Y increases as well.

Front 32

What is a Negative Correlation?

Back 32

When variable X increases, variable Y decreases.

Front 33

What is the disadvantage of correlation-based research?

Back 33

It cannot rule out alternative hypotheses.

Front 34

Evidence-to-Theory coordination.

Back 34

Any theory requires proof.

Front 35

Presupposition.

Back 35

a NON-TESTABLE assumption which is the foundation of beliefs, worldviews, philosophies, etc.

Front 36

What are the 4 presuppositions of science (Pillar 3: Science has an epistemological framework - a set of presuppositions)

Back 36

1) The Principle of OBJECTIVITY
-when I am gone, the world (and God) remains
2) The world can be OBSERVED and UNDERSTOOD by humans
3) UNIFORMITARIANISM
-nature operates in the same way and is PREDICTABLE.
4) METHODOLOGICAL NATURALISM
-natural processes are SUFFICIENT, non-natural processes are UNNECESSARY.

Front 37

What are the 5 limits of science (Pillar 4: As a human activity science does have limits)?

Back 37

1) Limited to PHYSICAL EXPLANATIONS of OBSERVABLE EVENTS
2) Cannot make VALUE JUDGMENTS
3) TELEOLOGY
-cannot address ultimate questions regarding purpose
4) Gives contingent or TENTATIVE knowledge.
5) Science is subject to the Bias of its practitioners
-observations don't happen in a vacuum.

Front 38

4 Types of Bias

Back 38

1) Philosophical Commitments
2) Religious Beliefs
3) Political Values
4) Professional Background

Front 39

How is science social (Pillar 5: Science is social in nature and takes place within the values/norms of a community)?

Back 39

A) What is researched is determined by political, social, and cultural bias
-where should the money go? HIV/AIDS vs. malaria
B) Inferences and data interpretation are influenced by scientists personal bias and greed (Hoo Suk Hwang's embroyonic cloning falsified results in stem cell research)
C) Communal objectivity (stifles bias
-peer-reviewed work (if you don't submit your work to peer-review your work will be rejected as quack.

Front 40

What are the 3 aspects of a worldview?

Back 40

A worldview is:
1) a way of seeing.
2) A vision for a way of life.
3) A way to answer life's major questions.

Front 41

What are the three aspects of empiricism?

Back 41

1) All concepts, ideas, substantive knowledge available to humans must ultimately rest solely on human experiences and observations.
2) Any alleged idea or belief that does not have empirical grounding is empty/meaningless.
3) Empiricism is an attempt to reduce all knowledge to scientific knowledge.

Front 42

Science is both an...

Back 42

ACTIVITY (experimentation) and a PRODUCT (the resulting theories)

Front 43

Inductive reasoning

Back 43

Connecting observation to explanation using inferences.
-Start with particulars and move to generalizations.

Front 44

Deductive reasoning

Back 44

Start with a general statement and move to a specific statement.
-It works for mammals in general, so it will work for humans in particular.

Front 45

What are the 4 types of correlations?

Back 45

1) Perfect positive (we don't see these)
2) No correlation
3) High (strong)
4) Low (weak)

Front 46

3 Perspectives on religion

Back 46

1_ Freud - religion helps us cope with the brutality in the world.
2) The Social Theory of Religion- Religion is a social activity which helps us lead longer and happier lives, religion evolved because its social nature was an advantage.
3) Religion is a cognitive "accident"