Question

Three kinds of statements are often used as premises:

Empirical statements
Testimonial statements
Definitional statements
Empirical statements are statements that report what people observe through their senses. These reports are either direct (i.e., through your own senses) or indirect (i.e., through others, instruments, books, etc.)

Testimonial statements are a type of indirect empirical statement. They are observational reports from other people, instruments, tv, or books.

A definitional statement has to do with how a word is used in a particular context. It has to do with the meaning of a word.

Determine which option best describes the following sentence:

"Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous."

options:

a. Empirical, not testimonial, uncontroversially true.

b. Empirical, not testimonial, not uncontroversially true.

c. Empirical, testimonial, uncontroversially true.

d. Empirical, testimonial, not uncontroversially true.

e. Definitional, uncontroversially true.

f. Definitional, not uncontroversially true.

g. None of the above.

Answer 1

The statement about fear is a definitional statement that is uncontroversially true as it explains the meaning of 'fear' in a context, not an empirical or testimonial claim.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement “Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous,” is best described as a definitional statement, specifically because it provides a definition for what “fear” entails within a certain context. As such, the correct answer to the question is option e. Definitional, uncontroversially true.

This kind of statement clarifies the meaning of the concept of fear rather than being an empirical claim about the world or a testimonial claim based on observation. Though one could argue about the nature of emotions empirically, the provided sentence is primarily focused on clarifying the use of the term “fear” in a particular context.