Passage: "The history of science is the real history of mankind." In this striking epigram, a…
Passage: "The history of science is the real history of mankind." In this striking epigram, a nineteenth-century writer links science with its background. Like most epigrams, its power lies in emphasizing by contrast an aspect of truth which may be easily overlooked. In this case, it is easy to overlook the relations between science and mankind, and to treat the former has some abstract third party, which can sometimes be praised for its beneficial influences, but frequently and conveniently blamed for the horrors of war. Science and mankind cannot be divorced from time to time at men's convenience. Yet we have seen that, in spite of countless opportunities of improvement, the opening years of the present period of civilization have been dominated by international conflict. Is this the inevitable result of the progress of science or does the fault lie elsewhere?
Which of the following is/are emphatically conveyed by the author of the passage?
1. Without science, mankind could not have continued to exist till today.
2. It is the science that will ultimately determine the destiny of mankind.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Solution
Statement 1 is incorrect: the passage emphasizes a strong link between science and human history, but does not say mankind's existence is solely attributed to science. Statement 2 is incorrect: the passage raises a question about whether science is responsible for conflict, indicating the relationship between science and mankind's destiny is complex - it does not claim science determines destiny. Hence neither statement is emphatically conveyed.