Homework 2.

Read and study the documents “1-1 René Descartes and David Hume.pdf”, “1-2 The Empiricist
Criterion of Meaning Carl Hempel” and the PowerPoint presentation “DG-1-P Introduction to
Ed Research Methods (Summary) sept 2021” (slides 1 to 28) and answer the next questions:

1. In what century did Descartes live?

Descartes lived between the end of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century.
First half of the seventeenth century.
2. What three activities best characterize Descartes?
He was a mathematician, a natural scientific thinker and a metaphysician.
A mathematician first, a natural scientist or “natural philosopher” second, and a metaphysician
third.
3. What was his most important contribution to mathematics?
He developed the techniques that made possible algebraic, or “analytic” geometry.
He developed the techniques that made “analytic” geometry possible.
4. What was his vision of the natural world like?
A world of matter possessing a few fundamental properties and interacting according to a few
universal laws with an immaterial mind that, in human beings, was directly related to the
brain. It is the modern version of the mind-body problem.
A world of matter possessing a few fundamental properties and interacting according to a few
universal laws.
5. What was the most important element of the ‘Method’ by Descartes?
The most important element was doubt.
The methodic doubt.
6. Name the three most important works, and corresponding year, published by
Descartes in his life.
They are Discourse on the Method (1637), Meditations on First Philosophy (1641-42) and
Principles of Philosophy (1644).
Discourse on the Method (1637)
Principles of Philosophy (1644)
Passion of the Soul (1649)
7. In the nineteenth century, Descartes was revered for his theory about animal bodies
being machines: What is the exact meaning of this expression?
This means that animal bodies are constituted by material mechanisms governed by the laws
of matter alone.
Animal bodies are constructed by aterial mechanisms, governed by the laws of matter alone.
 8. According to Descartes, ‘in relation to practice it is necessary to adopt, as if about
doubt…
opinions which we discern to be highly uncertain, as has been already said’.
opinions which we discern as highly uncertain.
9. But given that he decided to give his attention solely to the search after truth, he felt
obliged to…
reject as absolutely false all opinions in regard to which he could suppose the least ground for
doubt, in order to ascertain whether after that there remained something in his belief that was
wholly indubitable.
reject as absolutely false all opinions in regard to which he could suppose the least ground for
doubt.
10. Because he saw that our senses sometimes deceive us, he decided to assume that all
objects (presentations) that had ever entered his mind when awaked…
had in them no more truth than the illusions of his dreams.
had in them no more truth than the illusions of his dreams.
11. But immediately after this idea, came to him the conclusion that, for deceived that he
could be, it was absolutely necessary that he, who thus thought…
should be somewhat.
should be somewhat.
12. Then, he concluded, I think, therefore…
I am.
I am (COGITO ERGO SUM).
13. In what century did Hume live?
Hume lived in the 18th century.
Eighteenth century.
14. What else, beyond philosopher, was Hume considered to be?
He was also considered to be an historian and an essayist.
An historian and essayist.
15. Name the three most important works, and corresponding year, published by Hume in
his life.
They are A Treatise of the Human Nature (1739-40), Enquiries concerning Human
Understanding (1748) and Concerning the Principles of Morals (1779).
A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-1740)
Enquiries concerning Human Understanding (1748)
Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751)
16. The author of ‘The wealth of Nations’, and very good friend of David Hume was…
Adam Smith.
Adam Smith.
17. According to Kant, Hume’s work woke him from…
his “dogmatic slumbers”, which means that he opened up his eyes.
his “dogmatic slumbers”.
18. According to Hume, ‘Causes and effects are discoverable….
not by reason but by experience’.
not by reason but by experience’.
19. Hume provides an example of two pieces of very smooth marble put together on their
surfaces. Why is it relevant to his proposition about discovering causes and effects?
Because in this way he can explain his theory that says that we know causes and effects
because of experience. He says that if a man doesn't know by experience that the marble
pieces need lateral pressure to be separated, he will never separate them.
Because without previous experience with the objects, it is not possible to discover that it is
very difficult to separate them directly by sheer force. That cannot be deduced using only
reason.
20. Other examples produced by Hume to show that important things about nature
cannot be discovered ‘a priori’ are…
the explosion of gunpowder, or the attraction of a loadstone.
the effects of a gunpowder, the attraction of a loadstone (magnetite).
21. In brief, for rationalists, the only safe way to have knowledge about the world comes
through…
reason.
reason.
22. And for empiricists, the world can only be known through…
experience.
experience of our senses.
23. What do Rationalist and empiricist have in common about the knowledge of the
world?
They both want to find a source for knowledge.
They both were looking for a safe source of knowledge.
24. What was the fundamental question, shared by rationalists and empiricists, about the
world?
It was “What can be known?”.
What can be known?
25. How did the logical positivist reformulate the fundamental question about the world?
They changed the question to “What can be said?”.
What can be said?
26. How many classes of significant propositions are there, according to Logical Positivists?
There are two classes: Analytic and synthetic.
Two: Analytic and synthetic.
27. What is a formal proposition?
It is a true sentence by definition and generally self-explanatory, it has no informative value.
A proposition whose truth value can be deduced from its form.
28. And a synthetic proposition?
It is a sentence that is based on our sensory data and experience.
A proposition whose truth value must be deduced from its comparison with the world.
29. What happens with a proposition which is not analytic nor synthetic?
It means that it is non significant, senseless.
It is meaningless.
30. Which kind of propositions is made mathematics of?
It is made of analytic propositions.
Analytic.
31. What kind of propositions are made factual sciences of?
They are made of synthetic propositions.
Synthetic.
32. What about metaphysics, religion, ethics, etc.? What kind of propositions are they
made of?
They are made of non significant propositions.
Meaningless propositions.
33. According to the kind of propositions used by the different factual sciences (Physics,
Geology, Biology, Chemistry, etc.) how many different sciences exist?
There only exists one science.
Only one. The universal natural science.
34. Then, from the point of view of Logical positivism, what is science?
Science is the set of true statements about the world.
It is the whole set of synthetic propositions about the world that are true.
35. And what is research then, from the same point of view?
Research is the process of determining which synthetic propositions are true.
The process of discovering which are the true synthetic propositions about the world.
36. How can be described the research process, in this context?
The process is done by observing the world and determining which synthetic propositions are
true.
The process of observing the world to get every true synthetic proposition about it.
37. And the research methodology is then, according to Logical positivism, deductive or
inductive?
It is inductive.
It is inductive.
38. What do we need to classify any sentence?
We need an “intellectual tool”, a criterion to help us decide if a given sentence has empirical
meaning or not.
We need an “intellectual tool”, a criterion to help us decide if a given sentence has empirical
meaning or not.
39. What is this criterion we are speaking about?
This criterion is a condition we impose upon our proposition, it has to comply with the
condition to have empirical meaning or it would be senseless.
This criterion is a condition we impose upon our proposition. If the proposition complies with
the condition, then we’d say it has empirical meaning or it would be senseless.
40. At the same time, what are the conditions any criterion for empirical meaning has to
comply with?
The criterion must be able to classify any proposition of the language; if a proposition has
empirical meaning according to a given criterion, then the opposite has empirical meaning too;
laws of science must be assigned empirical meaning according to the criterion.
The criterion must be able to classify any proposition of the language.
If a proposition has empirical meaning according to a given criterion, then the denial of the
proposition has empirical meaning too.
Laws of science must be assigned empirical meaning according to the criterion.
41. The empirical meaning criterion can be formulated as the requirement of complete
verifiability in principle, stating:
That a proposition S has an empirical meaning if, and only if, is not analytic and can be
deduced from a finite set of observational sentences.
A sentence has an empirical meaning if and only if it is not analytic and follows logically from
some finite and logically consistent class of observational sentences.
42. Why a sentence must not be analytic if it is to be synthetic?
Because analytic propositions are not based on the way the world is, they are based on logic
and have no real informative value, so it doesn’t have an empirical meaning.
Because a taxon can never be in two different categories of the same level in a given
taxonomy.
43. What is the consequence of the analytical propositions not having empirical meaning?
That it is not considered science because they don't have to be verified through
experimentation.
That neither Mathematics nor logic are informative. They do not inform us about the actual
state of the world.
44. For the requirement of complete verification, what is the minimum number of possible
observations needed for a sentence to have empirical meaning?
One is the minimum number.
Only one.
45. And what is the maximum number of observations acceptable for a proposition to be
meaningful?
There is no maximum number of observations as long as it is a finite number.
As many as needed, as far as the number is finite.
46. What is the meaning of the clause ‘in principle’?
It means that the propositions have to be experienced because they base their knowledge in
experience.
That even though a technical impossibility might make it impossible to verify a certain
sentence, there is no logical impossibility.
47. Write an example of an empirical proposition very difficult to verify in practice.
Humans can live on other planets.
“Around Alfa Centaury, there is a planet on which surface exists an alien civilization of very
small, but intelligent people”
48. Write an example of a meaningless proposition.
Sad moments hurt the soul.
2i saw an Angel”, has no empirical meaning because by definition an angel is invisible.
49. According to Logical positivists, what kind of propositions is the Ethics made of?
It is made of non significant propositions.
It is made of meaningless propositions.
50. How many observations are needed to prove the truth of Pythagoras theorem?
There is no need for observations because it’s a mathematical law, which means that it is an
analytic proposition.
None. It is an analytic proposition, and the true value of it can be deduced from its own form.