Phil 100 F19: Final Exam Study Guide

For the final exam all you will need is a writing implement. 

Part I: Short Answer. You should be able to explain the following concepts and their significance for critical thinking:
  • The difference between cold and hot reading, as well as some of the techniques used by cold and hot readers.
  • The Dunning-Kruger Effect
  • Motivated Reasoning
  • Cognitive Dissonance
  • Some of the major Cognitive Biases discussed in class 
  • Some of the major Heuristics discussed in class
  • Gambler's Fallacy
  • Confirmation Bias
  • Appeal to Nature
  • Fundamental Attribution Error
  • Anomaly Hunting
  • Lottery Fallacy
  • Data Mining
  • The three basic assumptions of science
  • The three methods of experimentation discussed in class as well as an example to illustrate them 
  • The five Criteria of Adequacy
  •  p-Hacking
  • Frankfurt's Analysis of Black's Definition of 'Humbug'
  • The difference between a lie and bullshit, and which Frankfurt thinks is worse and why
  • Why Frankfurt thinks there is so much bullshit
  • The Traditional Model of the Media
  • The Textbook Model of Democracy
  • The Alternative Model of Democracy
  • The five filters that make up the Propaganda Model of the Media
  • Mainstream, Alternative, and Social Media and explain some of the issues that arise in assessing the credibility of each.
Part II: Essay. You will be given a description of a potentially pseudoscientific product or practice, and you will then write a short essay evaluating that product or practice using the tools we have developed over the course of the semester.
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