Deck 16: Public Spaces, Individualism, and Cognition in the Modern Age

Question 1

The largest expansion of the public spheres of cities occurred in

A) 13ᵗʰ century High Middle Ages
B) the fourteenth century Renaissance
C) the 16ᵗʰ century Reformation
D) the 17ᵗʰ century scientific revolution
E) 18ᵗʰ century Enlightenment

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The first place in the West where newspapers were prominent was

A) Holland
B) Britain
C) France
D) the United States
E) none of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In reaction to revolutions in the Eighteenth century, some 19ᵗʰ century urban planners

A) built wider side walks
B) built boulevards to divide the working class from the poor
C) increased the building of churches
D) developed zoning laws

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The redesign of railroad passenger cars so that all the seats faced forward did what to the social psychology of passengers?

A) discouraged speaking to each other
B) encouraged reading silently
C) encouraged looking a vistas triggering memory
D) a, b and c
E) none of the above

Question 5

In the Middle Ages which was a common organization of household activities

A) many activities went on in the same room
B) people ate on benches rather than chairs
C) people ate larger quantities of food than in modern times
D) people had no individualized eating utensils
E) a, b, c, d
F) none of the above

Question 6

The dangers of 3ʳᵈ order abstraction include

A) the reification of symbols
B) difficulty living in the present
C) becoming excessively critical
D) becoming increasingly manipulative
E) a, b, c, d
F) neither a, b, c, d

Question 7

In Medieval science what was lacking was induction in which evidence was connected with

A) authorities
B) testimony
C) definition
D) none of the above

Question 8

The differences between signs in the Middle Ages as opposed to signs that were part of the methodology of the scientific revolution is that signs during the scientific revolution became indicators of

A) correspondences
B) circumstantial evidence
C) tests
D) dabbling
E) none of the above

Question 9

In the Middle Ages

A) signs were inseparable from causes
B) there were no coincidences.
C) every sign had meaning
D) there was an emphasis on formal or final causes, not efficient or material causes
E) knowledge was gained through demonstration
F) a, b, c, d
G) none of the above

Question 10

In Europe the first scientists

A) worked with artisans
B) worked with alchemists and magicians
C) a and b
D) neither a or b. Scientists worked independently of both

Question 11

An example of 3ʳᵈ order abstraction about time and place is the work of

A) Newton on gravity
B) Galileo and falling bodies
C) Kepler and the motion of the planets
D) neither a, b or c
E) a, b and c

Question 12

An example of 3ʳᵈ order abstraction where symbols "square themselves" and take on a life of their own independently of objects is

A) algebra
B) trigonometry
C) calculus
D) theories of perspective
E) musical theory based on notations
F) all of the above

Question 13

In second order abstraction there is little attention paid to the following mistakes about reasoning about probability

A) base rate neglect
B) small sample,
C) unrepresentative sample
D) gambler's fallacy
E) a, b, c, d
F) neither a, b, c, d

Question 14

The social origins of third order probability theory were

A) annuity policies of merchants in the 17ᵗʰ century
B) tracking demographics of birth and death of state populations
C) polling predictions in the 20ᵗʰ century
D) a, b, c,
E) none of the above

Question 15

The following are example(s) of the capitalist system generating irrational results using third order abstraction

A) producing commodities people don't say they want and not producing commodities people say they want
B) investing in roads and sewer systems
C) paying workers a wage
D) competing with other capitalists
E) none of the above

Question 16

The most concrete of all forms of exchange is

A) coined money
B) paper money
C) checking accounts
D) bartering
E) credit cards

Question 17

Before the scientific revolution people could think using third order abstraction but how many people used it and for how often depended on

A) technologies that forced people to use third order abstraction in their work settings
B) economies that required using it in order to exchange goods and services
C) their class membership
D) their gender
E) a, b, c, d
F) none of the above

Question 18

The form of capitalism that invites the most third order abstraction is

A) merchant capital with profits being made on circulation
B) agricultural capitalism with profits made on land and slaves
C) industrial capital with profits being made on labor and industry
D) finance capital with profits being made on credit and loans
E) all of the above

Question 19

The intellectuals of the European Enlightenment were critical of the aristocracy and the royal courts for their ideas about what it means to be civilized.

Question 20

The difference between 2ⁿᵈ order and 3ʳᵈ order abstraction is that third order abstraction is more intelligent.

Question 21

In the Middle Ages understanding that was considered "probable" was not considered a source of knowledge.

Question 22

If you were to take a class in critical thinking and you were asked to make a table in which you identify the most common fallacies you make in your thinking; who you commit these fallacies with; what role you are in, this is a case of using third order abstraction.

Question 23

Our argument is that the working classes do not use third order abstraction because it is only mental workers that are trained to use the symbol systems that are the foundation for third order abstraction.

Question 24

Engaging in financial capitalist exchanges requires symbols acting on symbols independent of particular goods and services.

Question 25

Third order abstraction can be less intelligent if it is used in a social situation that does not require it. An example of this is Albert Einstein being transported into a hunting and gathering society and being expected to hunt and gather.

Question 26

Why would riding on a stagecoach involve more of your senses than being a passenger in a railroad car?

Question 27

Discuss how the evolution of transportation to the dominant use of automobiles over trains promoted individualism.
Consider:
a) the change in proportion within cities in the size of streets and sidewalks
b) the impact of the speed of cars on sense ratios
c) the use of cars as a refuge from home, school and work
Please draw from your own experience

Question 28

Historically there have been at least thirteen institutions that have helped to promote individualism. From the following institutions make cross-connections among institutions in explaining how they promoted individualism.
Here are the institutions:
a) the printing press (as opposed to manuscripts)
b) the Protestant Reformation (as opposed to Catholicism)
c) nationalism (as opposed to city or village loyalty)

Question 29

Explain how the following skills promote individualism:
a) having multiple sources of socialization with conflicting messages
b) a more objective generalized other
c) a greater capacity for situational transformation out of crisis

Question 30

You and your friends are arguing about who the best baseball hitter is today. After going back and forth and getting nowhere, one of you says "do you want to make a bet?" The others agree to take the bet. They also agree that the criteria should be "runs batted in", "batting average" and "home runs" in that order. They agree that at the end of the baseball season the player with the highest statistics in these categories is the best baseball player.
a) Is this a case of third order abstraction?
b) Which categories does it come closest to?
c) If this is not a case of third order abstraction, please indicate why you think it is not.

Question 31

Give an example from your life (not out of the book or from class discussions) of the difference between finance capital and fictitious capital.

Question 32

Imagine a more abstract level of social exchange beyond credit cards. Name how each of the phases of abstraction would operate that would justify calling this currency a higher form of abstraction. Be sure to cover each of the three phases of abstraction:
a) phase of extraction
b) phase of deliberation
c) phase of generalization

Question 33

Explain why you think industrial capitalist societies have a monotheistic religion.
If Marx is right that the dominant ideology is that of the ruling class, would it not make sense that there would be many gods competing with each other rather than one supreme god to reflect and justify how the capitalist system operates in the material world? Does the god of monotheism with a plan sound suspiciously like a state socialism? Please explain.