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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Wilson take up the example of dreams?
(a) To show that Freud discovered things he didn't understand himself.
(b) To demonstrate the correct way to analyze brain chemicals.
(c) To demonstrate man's different ways of knowing.
(d) To show that Freud's unscientific methods make his assumptions wrong.

2. What does science seek, in Wilson's account?
(a) Probably hypothesis.
(b) Interesting hypotheses.
(c) The mind of God.
(d) Objective truth based on hypothesis.

3. What has research on the mind had to focus on?
(a) Behavior.
(b) The working brain.
(c) The soul.
(d) The spirit.

4. What does Wilson distinguish between?
(a) Science and ethics.
(b) Religion and myth.
(c) Science and religion.
(d) Science and pseudo-science.

5. After considering all the different contexts for ants' communication, how does Wilson describe their form of communication?
(a) As electrochemical resonance.
(b) As instinctive teamwork.
(c) As socially conditioned.
(d) As released pheromones.

Short Answer Questions

1. What effect does Wilson say evolution had?

2. Who proposed the idea of unity of species that follow a few simple laws?

3. How are scientific theories constructed and used within the scientific community, in Wilson's account?

4. What philosophical assumption underlay the notion that evolution followed simple laws?

5. What does Wilson use the discussion of the unity of species to prepare for?

Short Essay Questions

1. What consequence does Wilson hope consilience can have on public policy?

2. How does consilience aim to resolve political problems?

3. What is the relationship between chaos theory and consilience?

4. What ancient sources does Wilson trace consilience back to?

5. How would you describe Condorcet's influence on Wilson's idea of consilience?

6. How does science impact the arts, in E.O. Wilson's account?

7. How does Wilson describe what it is possible to know about the brain?

8. What is the modern understanding of dreams?

9. What three-part division does Wilson divide the brain into?

10. What is reductionism, and what makes it useful for science?

(see the answer keys)

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