Scientism has left humanity in our technical mastery of inanimate nature, but improvised us in our quest for an answer to the riddle of the universe and of our existence in it. Scientism has done worse than that with respect to our status as social beings, that is, to our life with our fellow human beings. The quest for the technical mastery of social life, comparable to our mastery over nature, did not find scientism at a loss for an answer: reason suggested that physical nature and social life were fundamentally alike and therefore proposed identical methods for their domination. Since reason in the form of causality reveals itself most plainly in nature, nature became the model for the social world and the natural sciences the image of what the social sciences one day would be. According to scientism, there was only one truth, the truth of science, and by knowing it, humanity would know all. This was, however, a fallacious argument, its universal acceptance initiated an intellectual movement and a political technique which retarded, rather than furthered, human mastery of the social world The analogy between the natural and social worlds is mistaken for two reasons. On the one hand human action is unable to model the social world with the same degree of technical perfection that is possible in the natural world. On the other hand, the very notion that physical nature is the embodiment of reason from which the analogy between natural and social worlds derives, is invalidated by modern scientific thought itself.
Physical nature, as seen by the practitioner of science consists of a multitude of isolated facts over which human action has complete control. We know that water boils at a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit and, by exposing water to this temperature, we can make it boil at will. All practical knowledge of physical nature and all control over it are essentially of the same kind.
Scientism proposed that the same kind of knowledge and of control held true for the social world. The search for a single cause, in the social sciences, was but a faithful copy of the method of the physical sciences. Yet in the social sphere, the logical coherence of the natural sciences finds no adequate object and there is no single cause by the creation of which one can create a certain effect at will. Any single cause in the social sphere can entail an indefinite number of different effects, and the same effect can spring from an indefinite number of different effects, and the same effect can spring from an indefinite number of different causes.
The author’s attitude towards the application of scientism to the social sciences is best described as one of
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- committed scrutiny
- dismissal
- criticism
- approval
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 2: The author calls scientism’s approach a “fallacious argument” that “retarded” progress, indicating a negative stance.
Step 3: Option C (criticism) aligns with the author’s negative evaluation of scientism’s application.
Step 4: Option A (committed scrutiny) suggests a neutral analysis, but the author is explicitly critical.
Step 5: Option B (dismissal) is too strong; the author critiques but does not completely reject scientism.
Step 6: Option D (approval) is opposite to the author’s view.
Verification: The passage’s tone and arguments clearly criticize scientism’s application to social sciences.
According to the author, causes and effects in the social world are
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- unrelated to each other
- difficult to identify or predict
- subject to manipulation at will
- reducible to a single cause for each effect
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 2: This suggests that causes and effects in the social world are complex and difficult to predict or identify precisely.
Step 3: Option B (difficult to identify or predict) matches this description.
Step 4: Option A (unrelated) is incorrect as the passage acknowledges relationships, just not singular ones.
Step 5: Option C (manipulation at will) is wrong; the passage says social effects cannot be controlled like physical ones.
Step 6: Option D (single cause) contradicts the passage’s emphasis on multiple causes and effects.
Verification: The passage’s focus on the complexity of social causality supports option B.
Which of the following statements about scientism is best supported by the passage?
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- Scientism provides the basis for mastery of the social world
- Scientism is only superficially concerned with cause-and-effect relationships
- Scientism is poorly suited to explain social behaviour
- Scientism is no longer applicable to the study of the natural sciences
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 2: It argues that social phenomena lack the singular causality of physical sciences, making scientism unsuitable for explaining social behavior.
Step 3: Option C (poorly suited to explain social behaviour) aligns with this critique.
Step 4: Option A (mastery of social world) is incorrect as the passage denies scientism’s effectiveness.
Step 5: Option B (superficially concerned) is wrong; scientism seeks causality but fails due to complexity.
Step 6: Option D (not applicable to natural sciences) is irrelevant as the passage focuses on social sciences.
Verification: Option C captures the passage’s argument about scientism’s inadequacy for social behavior.
As used in the passage, the term ‘scientism’ can best be defined as
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- belief that the methods of the physical sciences can be applied to all fields of enquiry
- faith that human beings can master their own physical limitations
- desire to keep the social sciences separate from the physical sciences
- opinion that scientists must take moral responsibility for their actions
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 2: It states there is “only one truth, the truth of science,” applicable to all fields, including social sciences.
Step 3: Option A (methods of physical sciences applied to all fields) matches this definition.
Step 4: Option B (mastering physical limitations) is unrelated to the passage’s focus.
Step 5: Option C (separating sciences) contradicts scientism’s aim to unify methods.
Step 6: Option D (moral responsibility) is not mentioned in the passage.
Verification: Option A accurately reflects scientism’s core belief as described.
In the passage, the author is most concerned with doing which of the following?
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- Upholding the primacy of reason over superstition
- Attacking a particular approach to the social sciences
- Describing a method for achieving control over human social behaviour
- Demonstrating the superiority of the social sciences over the natural sciences
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 2: The author’s main concern is to challenge this specific approach, highlighting its flaws in explaining social behavior.
Step 3: Option B (attacking a particular approach to social sciences) aligns with this focus.
Step 4: Option A (reason over superstition) is irrelevant as superstition is not discussed.
Step 5: Option C (control over social behaviour) is incorrect; the passage denies such control is possible.
Step 6: Option D (superiority of social sciences) is wrong as the passage does not compare sciences’ superiority.
Verification: Option B captures the author’s critical focus on scientism’s misapplication.
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