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 as 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?
Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?
Assumption 2 is correct. The passage explicitly states that it is "easy to overlook the relations between science and mankind, and to treat the former as some abstract third party." It further asserts that "Science and mankind cannot be divorced from time to time at men’s convenience." This directly supports the idea that the overlooked aspect of truth is the intrinsic connection between science and human agency, implying that science is fundamentally a product of human actions and choices.
Assumption 1 is incorrect. The passage poses a question: "Is this the inevitable result of the progress of science or does the fault lie elsewhere?" This indicates that the author is challenging the premise that the horrors of modern life are an inevitable outcome of scientific progress, rather than affirming it. The author suggests that blaming science is a "convenient" but potentially misdirected attribution of fault.
Option (A) is incorrect because Assumption 1 is not supported by the passage.
Option (C) is incorrect as Assumption 1 is invalid, meaning both assumptions cannot be correct.
Option (D) is incorrect because Assumption 2 is valid and directly inferable from the passage.