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
57
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
"Daydreamingagain,barb?You’llnever【21】______anythingifyouspendyoutimethatway!Can’tyoufindsomethingusefultodo?
TherewasnotanytobaccoinSpainuntil______.
Whyare"HowTo"booksingreatdemandintheUnitedStates?
WhereintheUnitedStatesdidpopmusicfirstemerge?Whatwasthewaraffairinlate1960sthatmademanyAmericanyoungpeop
Thenursingstaff______.Whatkindofpersonissuitedtobecomeanurse?
Whatkindoffoodismostlikelytocausedentaldecay?
Duringthe1980s,womenstartedtoplayamoreimportantrolein______.AccordingtoParagraph2,whoaremostlikelytobepo
HumanintelligenceandtheIQscalesusedtomeasureitonceagainarebecomingthefocusoffierydebate.Asargumentrages
Revolutionaryinnovationisnowoccurringinallscientificandtechnologicalfields.Thiswaveofunprecedentedchangeisdriven
Whatdoyoudowhenyouwanttolearnthemeaningofa【C1】______word?Ifyou’re【C2】______mostpeople,youdooneoftwoth
随机试题
∫02|x—1|dx=____________.
Forsometimepastithasbeenwidelyacceptedthatbabiesandothercreatureslearntodothingsbecausecertainactsleadto"
患者,女,21岁。2周来右上后牙遇冷、热过敏。检查发现右下6深龋,探之未穿髓,病变组织颜色较浅,易剔除。做诊断时应与之鉴别的主要疾病是
麻疹前驱期历时3~4日,症状有
设计安全等级为二级的某公路桥梁,由多跨简支梁组成,其总体布置如题图所示。每孔跨径25m,计算跨径为24m,桥梁总宽为10.5m,行车道宽度为8.0m,两侧各设1m宽人行步道,双向行驶二列汽车。每孔上部结构采用预应力混凝土箱梁,桥墩上设立四个支座,支座的横桥
一、背景某机电安装公司承担北方某城市小区供热管网工程施工,开工前,项目经理进行了全面的质量策划,并指令专业工程师编制质量控制程序。工程按期完工,由于建设单位配套设施尚不具备条件,虽已到供暖期,没能进行试运。由于寒潮突然袭击,使当地气温骤降,随后检
对下列概念理解正确的是()。
Hishandshookalittleashe______thekeyinthelock.
A、 B、 C、 D、 A第一列三个基础图形旋转45°和90°得到第二、三列图形,但是两边的线段相对于中间的连结线的位置改变。
阐述研究假设的特点并论述提出研究假设的基本方法及应注意的问题。
最新回复
(
0
)