Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Rosenberg Test Questions

Rosenberg Test Questions 

Here's the full 31.  If you see a question that's worded strange or an answer that's wrong, post it in the comment section and I'll fix it. Same goes for page numbers. 

 1. Alex Rosenberg says answers to scientific questions don’t come packaged in what form?
 a. Stories (p. 8)

2. What are the two basic kinds of things composing everything in the universe?
a. Fermions and bosons (p. 21)

3. Rosenberg's scientistic position on the purpose of the universe is that there is none.
a. True (p. 43)

4. What’s the name of the billionaire from Winchester, TN, that started an eponymous foundation dedicated to "affirming life's spiritual dimension" and reconciling religion & faith with science & reason.
a. John Templeton (p. 45)

5. Along with nature’s passivity, what's the essence of natural selection lacking?
a. Foresight (p. 56)

6. Name one of biological evolution's three distinctive features.
a. Quick & dirty, emergent complexity/diversity, cooperation & competition (p. 68)

7. To illustrate the extreme wastefulness of natural selection, how many male sperm out of every million make their mark?
a. One (p. 74)

8. What are the two components of questions theists find troubling with atheism?
a. Morality and purpose (p. 94)

9. What’s the good news/bad news component missing from nihilism?
a. Morality (p. 94)

10. What is scientism’s version of the Euthyphro Dilemma?
a. Nihilism (p. 101)

11. What must we nice people tolerate, though not forever?
a. Sociopaths (p. 143)

12. What must be wrong if science contradicts the “immediate experience” of free will, mind, soul, and personhood?
 a. Introspection (p. 147)

13. What phenomenon does Rosenberg describe as seeing without conscious visual experience?
 a. Blindsight (p. 149)

14. Does Rosenberg deny that we think?
a. No (p. 170)

15. What does scientism supposedly show about the first-person POV?
a. Illusion (p.194)

16. (T/F) Rosenberg says there are no purposes or designs in nature, thanks to Newton and Darwin.
a. True (p. 206)

17. (T/F) Rosenberg says Mother Nature made us love stories and we see conspiracies everywhere.
a. True (p. 211)

18. (T/F) Rosenberg likes to read, watch, and listen to stories.
a. True (p. 214)

19. (T/F) Rosenberg calls the attempt to reconcile natural science and common sense "naturalism."
 a. True (p. 216)

20. (T/F) Rosenberg argues that history has no meaning, purpose, or point.
 a. True (pp. 242-243)

21. (T/F) Rosenberg said, “Those who do not learn the lessons of history are suffered to repeat them.”
 a. False (p. 246)

22. Rosenberg maintains that most inventing (e.g., discoveries by Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison) is simply ___________.
 a. Trial and error (p. 252)

23. (T/F) Rosenberg is impressed by human cultural evolution (memetics) as a successor to natural selection as the primary engine of evolution.
 a. False (p. 264)

24. Who wrote the ancient historical text History of the Peloponnesian War that many social scientists and policy wonks recommend reading, to shed light on the future?
 a. Thucydides (p. 267)

25. (T/F) Rosenberg denies that anyone can predict or control the human future.
a. True (p. 271)

26. What word is a point of contention with Rosenberg and the critics of this London bus ad? "There's probably no god, now stop worrying and enjoy your life"
 a. "probably"(p. 275)

27. What's the Dawkins delusion, according to Rosenberg?
 a. Substitution (p. 278)

28. What's Rosenberg Rx for Welschmertz?
 a: prozac et al. (p. 282) 

29. What's at stake with Rosenberg's anti-libertarian consequence of denying free will?
 a. meritocracy (pp. 294-295)

30. Do the humanities create knowledge, according to Rosenberg?
 a. No (p. 299)

31. Who is Rosenberg's ancient Greek "nice nihilist" hero?
a. Epicurus (p. 313)


1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Dean. Anyone care to add any questions or topics to the Study Guide? Or propose an extra credit Discussion Question?

    ReplyDelete