Maxwell Exam

Multiple Choice Exam

Grover Maxwell, "The Ontological Status of Theoretical Entities"

Please use a form 882-ES Scan-Tron Card to record your answers. Choose the best answer to each of the following questions.

1. According to Maxwell, the view that theoretical entities are merely convenient fictions which have no cognitive content and function merely as part of a "calculating device" :

A. is correct
B. doesn't deserve serious attention
C. is incongruous with scientific practice
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

2. According to Maxwell, instrumentalists maintain that:

A. terms which refer to theoretical entities are meaningless
B. scientific theories are merely devices for organizing and predicting phenomena
C. theoretical terms do not refer to anything
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

3. According to Maxwell, the primary motivation for philosophers who subscribe to non-realist interpretations of theories is:

A. the desire to show that science is useless
B. the desire to show that theories do not play a legitimate role in the scientific enterprise
C. the elimination of "pseudo problems"
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

4. According to Maxwell, phenomenalists maintain that:

A. observation terms refer to sense data
B. theoretical terms denote physical objects which exist independent of observers
C. factual statements cannot be translated (without remainder) into the sense-datum language
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

5. According to Maxwell, if it is maintained that what is seen by means of a microscope is just a shadow or an image and not a physical object, then:

A. the observational-theoretical distinction must be absolute
B. it follows that all physical objects are unobservable
C. what is seen through eye-glasses are also just shadows or images and not physical objects
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

6. According to Maxwell, the observational-theoretical dichotomy :

A. distinguishes between things which really exist and things which don't really exist
B. varies from context to context
C. is nonarbitrary
D. is ontologically significant
E. none of the above

7. According to Maxwell, the fact that it is logically possible to observe electrons supports the view that:

A. electrons really exist
B. all non-logical terms in theories are possible candidates for observation terms
C. only logical terms in theories are observation terms
D. all of the above
E. none of the above

8. According to Maxwell, the the "observation base" of the observable/ unobservable spectrum is important because:

A. it serves as the basis from which theories are discovered
B. it is necessary as a confirmation base for statements which refer to entities which are unobservable at any given time
C. it serves as the base for distinguishing existence from non-existence
D. all of the above
E. none of the above.

9. According to Maxwell, "observation term" should be defined as:

A. any term which refers to an observable
B. any term which is a non-logical term
C. any non-logical term which occurs in a quickly decidable sentence
D. any term which occurs in an nonanalytic sentence
E. none of the above

10. According to Maxwell, the precise point at which the observational/theoretical line is drawn at any given time:

A. has no ontological significance
B. is a function of the instruments we happen to have available
C. is a function of our physiological makeup
D. all of the above
E. none of the above