首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Scientific knowledge is based on verifiable evidence. By evidence we mean concrete factual observations which other observers ca
Scientific knowledge is based on verifiable evidence. By evidence we mean concrete factual observations which other observers ca
admin
2010-07-06
49
问题
Scientific knowledge is based on verifiable evidence. By evidence we mean concrete factual observations which other observers can see, weigh, measure, count, or check for accuracy. We may think the definition too obvious to mention; most of us have some awareness of the scientific method. Yet only a few centuries ago medieval scholars held long debates on how many teeth a horse had, without bothering to look into a horse’s mouth to count them.
At this point we raise the troublesome methodological question, "What is a fact?" While the word looks deceptively simple, it is not easy to distinguish a fact from a widely shared illusion. Suppose we define a fact as a descriptive Statement upon which all qualified observers are in agreement. By this definition, medieval ghosts were a fact, since all medieval observers agreed that ghosts were real. There is, therefore, no way to be sure that a fact is an accurate description and not a mistaken impression. Research would be easier if facts were dependable, unshakable certainties. Since they are not, the best we can do is to recognize that a fact is a descriptive statement of reality which scientists, after careful examination and cross-checking, agree in believing to be accurate.
Since science is based on verifiable evidence, science can deal only with questions about which verifiable evidence can be found. Questions like "Is there a God?" "What is the purpose and destiny of man?" or "What makes a thing beautiful?" are not scientific questions because they can not be treated factually. Such questions may be terribly important, but the scientific method has not tools for handling them. Scientists can study human beliefs about God, or man’s destiny, or beauty, or anything else, and they may study the personal and social consequences of such beliefs; but these are studies of human behavior, with no attempt to settle the truth or error of the beliefs themselves.
Science then does not have answers for everything, and many important questions are not scientific questions. The scientific method is our most reliable source of factual knowledge about human behavior and the natural universe, but science with its dependence upon verifiable factual evidence cannot answer questions about value, or esthetics, or purpose and ultimate meaning, or supernatural phenomena. Answers to such questions must be sought in philosophy, metaphysics, or religion.
Each scientific conclusion represents the most reasonable interpretation of all the available evidence—but new evidence may appear tomorrow. Therefore science has no absolute truths. An absolute truth is one which will hold true for all times, places, or circumstances. All scientific truth is tentative, subject to revision in the light of new evidence. Some scientific conclusions (e.g., that the earth is a spheroid; or that innate drives are culturally conditioned) are based upon such a large and consistent body of evidence that scientists doubt that they will ever be overturned by new evidence. Yet the scientific method requires that all conclusions be open to reexamination whenever new evidence is found to challenge them.
The word "concrete" in the second sentence of the passage means
选项
A、general.
B、particular.
C、scientific.
D、verifiable.
答案
B
解析
本题考查细节理解。concrete所在的名词短语“concrete factual observations”后有个定语从句“which other observers can see weigh, measure,count,or check for accuracy”,从中可以得到启示:观察家们发出的都是非常具体的动作,所以concrete的意思应该是“具体的”,即选项B 。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/j7Dd777K
本试题收录于:
公共英语四级笔试题库公共英语(PETS)分类
0
公共英语四级笔试
公共英语(PETS)
相关试题推荐
WhywasKohoutekreferredtoas"thecometofthecentury"?Whichofthefollowingquestionsisbestansweredbyinformationg
Inthe1960stheWestCoastbecameanimportantcenterforrockmusic.LosAngelesandSouthernCaliforniaarefamousforsunshi
Whichofthefollowingcanreflecttheever-changingethnicstructureofAmerica?WhoplayprofessionalfootballintheUnited
Itishardtotrackthebluewhale,theocean’slargestcreaturewhichhasalmostbeenkilledoffbycommercialwhalingandisn
Inthe1920sdemandforAmericanfarmproductsfell,asEuropeancountriesbegantorecoverfromWorldWarIandinstitutedaust
Inthe1950s,thepioneersofartificialintelligence(AI)predictedthat,bytheendofthiscentury,computerswouldbeconver
SoftwarepiracyproblemsexistandhavebeenexacerbatedinrecentyearsduetoISoverload,decentralizedpurchasing,budgetc
ThecontroversialAnglo-Frenchsupersonictransportplane,theConcorde,hadattractedmuchattentionbecauseitisunusuallylo
ThecontroversialAnglo-Frenchsupersonictransportplane,theConcorde,hadattractedmuchattentionbecauseitisunusuallylo
Societywasfascinatedbyscienceandthingsscientificinthenineteenthcentury.Greatbreakthroughsinengineering,theuseo
随机试题
不需要对被试者的选择、编组以及实验处理等做随机安排,而直接以原教学班作为实验组或对照组的实验是()
任意抛掷三枚硬币,恰有两枚硬币正面朝上的概率是()
生长线和横纹变得更清晰见于釉质龋的
以连线法取臀部肌内注射部位的定位法是( )。
A.阿托品B.吗啡C.哌替啶D.苯巴比妥钠E.氯丙嗪减少呼吸道分泌,抑制交感副交感神经兴奋应用
建筑专业施工图设计依据不包括:(2017年第11题)
某建设工程施工合同约定支付最终结算款的时间为2007年9月1日。由于建设单位迟迟不予支付,施工单位于2007年12月1日致函建设单位要求付款,建设单位答应最迟于2008年3月1日前付清工程尾款。由于建设单位仍然未能兑现承诺,施工单位诉建设单位工程款纠纷的诉
饭店设备使用的基本要求包括“三好”要求和“四会”要求,其中“四会“是针对()提出的。
[资料一]甲公司为增值税一般纳税企业,适用的增值税税率为17%,适用的企业所得税税率为25%。商品销售价格中均不含增值税税额。按每笔销售业务分别结转销售成本。2013年6月,甲公司发生的经济业务及相关资料如下:(1)向A公司销售商品一批
Whichtwothingsareuncommoninruralareas?WhatdoyouneedtoworkinAfricancountries?
最新回复
(
0
)