Personal Experience

by


PART ONE

  1. Describe the relationship between science and personal experience.
  2. Explain the difference between seeming real and being real.
  3. In a random survey, if people were asked whether one is more likely to die from asthma or a tornado, what do you think the majority would say? Why?
  4. Jane wants to buy a new car and is deciding between a Mazda and a Toyota. The most important factor in her decision is reliability. Consumer surveys indicate that the Toyota is more reliable. But her Uncle Joe owns a Toyota, and it has given him nothing but trouble. So she buys the Mazda. Is Jane’s conclusion reasonable? Why or why not?

 

PART 2

Read the passage below and answer the following questions:

 

Well, the day that I saw the [Loch Ness] monster, it was the end of September 1990, and I was driving back from Inverness. I came up the hill where we came in sight of the bay, glanced out across it, and saw this large lump, is the best way to describe it. The nearest I can tell you is that it looked like a boat that had turned upside down. Pretty much like that one out there, actually, same sort of size. If you took that boat and put it in the entrance to the bay, which is where I saw the monster, that’s the size of it. About 30 feet in length, and nearly 10 feet in height from the water to the top of the back. It was a bright, sunny day, the water was bright blue, and it really showed up against it. It was a mixture of browns, greens, sludgy sort of colors. I looked at it on and off for a few seconds, because I was driving. Must have seen it three or four times, and the last time I looked, it was gone! (Val Moffat, eyewitness quoted in NOVA Online, “The Beast of Loch Ness,” accessed December 2, 20

 

  1. The speaker in the passage says that she saw the Loch Ness

monster. What is her evidence to support this claim?

  1. Is her claim justified? Why or why not?
  2. Are there any reasons for doubting the evidence of her personal

experience? If so, what are they?

  1. Do you find her argument convincing? Why or why not?
  2. What kind of evidence when added to her observations would

make her argument stronger