Almost every word in the dictionary has more than one meaning. Why then do we not become confused constantly by this ambiguity? The multiple meanings of most of the words we use do not confuse us because ________

(a) we never know what a person means anyway
(b) we use context and purpose to pick out the speaker's meaning
(c) we use vagueness to negotiate interests
(d) we go online to find out what a word means


b

Philosophy & Belief

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Confucius characterized the Tao as a moral Mean

Indicate whether the statement is true or false

Philosophy & Belief

Assuming that any guidelines developed will “cast too wide a net” and identify persons in

no way likely to be terrorists, how would you balance this inconvenience against the safety of the travelling public?

What will be an ideal response?

Philosophy & Belief

In 1981, the state of Louisiana passed a law requiring that “creation science” be taught in the

public schools whenever ”evolution-science” was taught. No school was required to teach either “creation science” nor “evolution science,” but if either were taught, then so must the other. Critics of the law complained that this law violated the prohibition in the First Amendment against the establishment of a state religion. In order to pass muster under this clause, all three of the following tests must be met: (1) the state legislature must have adopted the law with a secular purpose; (2) the primary effect of the state law must neither advance nor inhibit religion; (3) the state law must not result in excessive entanglement of government with religion. The U.S. Supreme Court concluded, in a case called Edwards v. Aguilar in 1987, that the statute failed each test. It said that the pre-eminent goal of the legislature was to advance a particular religious viewpoint promoting creation science, a view not held universally by all religions.

What will be an ideal response?

Philosophy & Belief

Imagine that you are standing still, while a friend of yours is on a train heading north. You see two lightning bolts strike the ground at the same instant – one to the north and the other to the south

Einstein would say that your friend on the train experiences things differently, seeing the northern bolt strike before the southern bolt. A. True B. False

Philosophy & Belief