Week 04 Mini Test

• Schedule
• Wk 04
• Wk 05
• Midterm
• Wk 08
• Wk 10
• Wk 11
• Wk 13
• Final
• Browser recs

The mini test worth 15% of your total mark in this course and is in two parts: 5 multiple choice questions worth 1 marks each for a total of 5 marks and your choice of a series of written answer questions, worth a possible 10 marks.

The exam covers all of the material presented in the first three weeks: the introduction, Plato, and Clifford.

You should look over this list and if there is anything you don't recognize or aren't sure you understand, you should review it in the written lesson or ask me for clarification:

The difference between information, knowledge, and understanding, as Jim thinks of them You should know what happens in Plato's Allegory of the Cave You should know who Socrates was and how he died You should know what an allegory is You should understand how each of the three "influential interpretations" I went through interpret aspects of the allegories like the shadows, the outside world, etc. (Plato’s original, The Enlightenment, the Mass Media) The role of the teacher as suggested by what Socrates says

You should have a good grasp of how Clifford thinks about personal belief You should understand Clifford's attitude toward the shipowner in the story he begins with You should understand Clifford’s strong opinions about the importance of basing beliefs on evidence as a moral position You should understand what Clifford considers to be the dangers associated with credulity and viral misinformation

The multiple choice questions and the written answer topics below expect you to have a good understanding of this information and these ideas.

Written answer topics

The topics for the written answer expect you both to show your accurate knowledge of the material I taught and to think about it yourself.

Explain your new knowledge and understanding in your own words, so that I can evaluate it.

Keys to success:

• Remember I am never just asking for your opinion. I am asking for evidence that you understood the opinions and facts presented in the material. (I'm happy to hear your opinions as well, but I'm marking you on your understanding of the ideas and facts in the lesson.)
  
• You should ask yourself why I am asking this question and then answer the question in its own terms. Then you are free to add you own thoughts and feelings.
• Accuracy matters. You need to have a clear, good understanding of what was taught and to show that you have that understanding.
• Be sure to answer the whole question, thoroughly.
• Do not cannibalize material from the Internet. Period.
• Don’t overly plagiarize from the lesson or the reading. Take the time to understand and then put it in your own words. You can quote from my lesson and the readings within limits, but you should not just create a collage of copy-and-paste.
• Spell people's names correctly. Do not let Microsoft Turd do your spellcheck for you. Use complete sentences and appropriate paragraph breaks. Choose your words carefully but naturally; don't use a thesaurus.
• I strongly recommend that you write a draft of your answer and then put it aside, for a day or more if possible, or at least for 20 minutes or so. Now re-read your answer aloud to yourself. Anywhere you yourself stumble or don't understand what you are saying it needs to be fixed. ;-)

• Your answer will be evaluated out of 10 marks, based on the following criteria:
• Accurate, clear, and precise understanding of the material (your ability to re-explain it in your own words)
• Completeness of your response (have you responded fully and adequately to every part of the topic?)
• The clarity and relevance of your own ideas, if you are asked to share them

If you want to talk about other aspects of the theme not mentioned by me in the exam topic, I will be happy to read what you have to say, but be sure you respond to the topic fully, completely, and accurately first. That is what I will be marking you on.

If you want to respond to a topic, but are not sure what I am looking for when it comes to some part of it, feel free to email me asking for further clarification.

WRITTEN ANSWER INSTRUCTIONS: WRITE AN INFORMAL BUT CLEAR RESPONSE TO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TOPICS

You will probably want to write between 400 and 800 words. More is fine.

1.
In the introduction to this class, I suggested there is a difference between information, knowledge, and understanding. Explain how I characterized the difference between these three concepts in your own words. Identify a piece of information from the first three weeks of this course that was new to you and that you still remember in your head. Explain that piece of information. Why do you think you remember it? Talk about new knowledge you have gotten from the course, or knowledge you had that has deepened. Explain this knowledge in your own words so that I can see if you have understood it accurately. What about understanding? Is there something you feel like you are understanding more than you did before starting this class? Explain.

2.
I described three different influential interpretations of the Allegory of the Cave: Plato's original, the Enlightenment, and the Mass Media interpretation. Explain the "moral" of each of these interpretations in your own words. In other words, if you take the interpretation seriously, how do you think Plato wants you change your view of what is real after seeing things in this way? Which of the three interpretations is closest to how you would interpret the allegory? How do you personally interpret it?

3.
In the course of his essay, Clifford gives at least three different reasons why he thinks it is always wrong for a human being to believe anything without sufficient evidence - three potential bad outcomes or effects of doing that. Identify three different places in his essay where he explains different reasons why he thinks it is wrong to believe without evidence and explain them in your own words. What do you think of his arguments?