Chapter 3 Questions

18. Describe how the following philosophical concepts from Chapter 1 provide support for the
norm of organized skepticism:
(a) Repeatability of experiments.
(b) Disinterested/objective behavior
(c) Belief in an ordered universe
Organized skepticism is one of the key elements that defines science. Philosophical
concepts such as: repeatability of experiments, disinterested/objective behavior, and belief in an
ordered universe all support the norm of organized skepticism in science. To begin, repeatability
of experiments is really important to the norm of organized skepticism due to the fact that in
order for an experiment to be considered factual/true, it must be repeatable. If the
circumstances in which the experiment are not repeatable, it is not possible for other scientists
to see if what is being stated is true. Secondly, disinterestedness and objective behavior,
supports the norm of organized skepticism because scientists are supposed to view every
experiment without a bias. They must not judge, every experiment is different and requires an
open mind to accept what is being presented. Finally, the belief in an ordered universe
contributes to the norm of ordered skepticism. The belief that the universe is simple and regular
all throughout, plays a key role in ordered skepticism. If an experiment is not able to be applied
anywhere in the universe the experiment doesn't follow the notion that the universe is uniform.,
thus what is stated can be questioned for preciseness.
19. List the different types of scientific institutions, and describe how each of them contributes to
scientific progress.
One of the greatest ways science progresses is through scientific institutions. Scientific
institutions range from a wide variety of locations and goals, but they all contribute to the
progression of science. To begin, research universities contribute immensely to the progress of
science because they are filled with young and aspiring scientist(students) looking to know more
about their field of study. They are looking for new answers about the world around them
because they are beginning their long journey in their field. The ambitions of research
universities contributes immensely to the progression because young and fresh minds are
working hard to acquire more knowledge in their field of study. National research and
development laboratories contribute to the progress of science because they are specialized in
certain fields. This helps to the progress of science because they offer scientist a place to study
experiments that are not readably accessible due to the lack of resources. Military research and
development laboratories contribute to the progress of science because they offer another field
that is government funded to find new discoveries and breakthroughs in science. Business
laboratories and Contract research firms offer progress to science but at a cost to the
consumers. They both make progression but they do it for the profit and betterment of society.
30. Discuss the technical difficulties encountered in secret scientific research work performed
for government military projects.
Although secret scientific research work performed for government military projects has
saved many lives and help protect millions of people, it tends to encounter several technical
difficulties. Many scientific research/experiments need to be tested. When the government
keeps experiments a secret, it gets increasingly harder to test them for effectiveness due to the
fact that aren't very many places they can test wide scale experiments. Next, they run into the
difficulty where there is not enough organized skepticism to see if the research is being
conducted properly or if the experiment is giving accurate results. The secrecy does not allow

other scientist to see if the work is being done properly on a larger scale. Finally, it gets
increasingly harder to gather accurate results because the government is trying to keep things a
secret. Since they are keeping the research a secret they can't gather proper results because
they are restricted to keeping things a secret from the public.