Comprehension Practice
Experience has quite definitely shown that some reasons for holding a belief are much more likely to be justified by the event than others. It might naturally be supposed, for instance, that the best of all reasons for a belief was a strong conviction of certainty accompanying the belief. Experience, however, shows that this is not so, and that as a matter of fact, conviction by itself is more likely to mislead than it is to guarantee truth. On the other hand, lack of assurance and persistent hesitation to come to any belief whatever are an equally poor guarantee that the few beliefs which are arrived at are sound. Experience also shows that assertion, however long continued, although it is unfortunately with many people an effective enough means of inducingbelief, is not in any way a ground for holding it. The method which has proved effective, as a matter of actual fact, in providing a firm foundation for belief wherever it has been capable of application, is what is usually called the scientific method. I firmly believe that the scientific method, although slow and never claiming to lead to complete truth, is the only method which in the long run will give satisfactory foundations for beliefs. It consists in demanding facts as the only basis for conclusions, and in consistently and continuously testing any conclusions which may have been reached, against the test of new facts and, wherever possible, by the crucial test of experiment. It consists also in full publication of the evidence on which conclusions are arrive at possibly very different conclusions. There are, however, all sorts of occasions on which the scientific method is not applicable. That method involves slow testing, frequent suspension of judgment, restricted conclusions. The exigencies of everyday life, on the other hand, often make it necessary to act on a hasty balancing of admittedly incomplete evidence, to take immediate action, and to draw conclusions in advance of the evidence. It is also true that such action will always be necessary, and necessary in respect of ever larger issues; and this in spite of the fact that one of the most important trends of civilization is to remove sphere after sphere of life out of the domain of such intuitive judgment into the domain of rigid calculation based on science. It is here that belief plays its most important role. When we cannot be certain, we must proceed in part by faith—faith not only in the validity of our own capacity of making judgments, but also in the existence of certain other realities, pre-eminently moral and spiritual realities. It has been said that faith consists in acting always on the nobler hypothesis; and though this definition is a trifle rhetorical, it embodies a seed of real truth.
Questions & Answers
1. Give the meaning of the underlined phrases as they are used in the passage.
(Referring to conviction by itself, suspension of judgment, exigencies of everyday life, intuitive judgment)• Conviction by itself: A strong feeling of certainty or belief, which is likely to mislead rather than guarantee truth. • Suspension of judgment: The act of deliberately postponing the formulation of a conclusion or belief. • Exigencies of everyday life: The urgent, unavoidable demands or pressures encountered in daily existence. • Intuitive judgment: Decision-making based on instinct, feeling, or immediate perception, often exercised when certainty is impossible.
2. What justification does the author claim for his belief in the scientific method?
The author believes the scientific method is the only method that has proved effective in providing a firm foundation for belief. He claims it is the only method that in the long run will give satisfactory foundations for beliefs, by demanding facts as the only basis for conclusions and continuously testing conclusions against new facts and experiments.
3. Do you gather from the passage that conclusions reached by the scientific method should be considered final? Give reasons for your answer.
No, the conclusions should not be considered final. The author states that the scientific method is slow and never claiming to lead to complete truth, and it requires consistently and continuously testing any conclusions against new facts.
4. In what circumstances, according to the author, is it necessary to abandon the scientific method?
It is necessary to abandon the scientific method on occasions where it is not applicable, such as when the exigencies of everyday life make it necessary to act on a hasty balancing of admittedly incomplete evidence, take immediate action, and draw conclusions in advance of the evidence.
5. How does the basis of “intuitive judgment” differ from that of scientific decision?
The basis of scientific decision is rigid calculation based on science and demanding facts as the only basis for conclusions. The basis of intuitive judgment differs by relying on a hasty balancing of admittedly incomplete evidence and requiring proceeding in part by faith (in moral and spiritual realities) when certainty is unavailable.