Reading Passage
Normal science, the activity in which most scientists inevitably spend almost all their time, is based on the assumption that the scientific community knows what the world is like. Scientists take great pains to defend that assumption, often restricting their vision to the phenomena that the existing paradigm has defined as relevant. When research proceeds in this fashion, findings tend to be incremental, reinforcing the established framework rather than challenging it. Yet, over time, anomalies-empirical observations that cannot be explained within the current paradigm-accumulate. Initially, these anomalies are dismissed as errors or as problems to be solved within the existing theoretical structure. However, as these anomalies grow in number and significance, they begin to erode confidence in the prevailing paradigm.
The resolution of such crises is not a straightforward process of falsification, as Popper might suggest but rather a transformation in the very way scientists see the world. Scientific revolutions occur when a new paradigm emerges-one that is not merely an extension of the old but a fundamental reconceptualization of reality. This shift is not purely logical or empirical; it involves a radical change in perspective, akin to a gestalt switch. The Copernican Revolution, for example, did not merely adjust astronomical calculations; it redefined the very framework through which celestial motion was understood. Similarly, Einstein's theory of relativity did not just modify Newtonian mechanics but replaced its foundational assumptions about space and time.
Questions and Options
1. According to the passage, why do scientific revolutions represent a rupture rather than a continuation of prior science?
A) Because scientists abandon objectivity and turn to speculation.
B) Because competing paradigms redefine questions and methods, making continuity impossible
C) Because new paradigms invalidate all previous findings.
D) Because scientists stop collecting empirical data.
2. From the above passage, Identify the voice used in the sentence: "Anomalies are dismissed as errors or as problems to be solved within the existing theoretical structure."
A) Active voice
B) Middle voice
C) Passive voice
D) Reflexive voice
13. What type of clause is used in the sentence given below from the above passage: "Yet, over time, anomalies that cannot be explained within the current paradigm accumulate."
A) Noun clause
B) Relative clause
C) Adverbial clause
D) Independent clause
Paragraph taken from Thomas kuhn
Thomas Kuhn (1922–1996) was an influential American historian and philosopher of science. He is best known for his 1962 landmark book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, which popularized the term "paradigm shift" and fundamentally changed how we understand the progression of human knowledge.
Answers
11. According to the passage, why do scientific revolutions represent a rupture rather than a continuation of prior science?
B) Because competing paradigms redefine questions and methods, making continuity impossible
12. From the above passage, Identify the voice used in the sentence: "Anomalies are dismissed as errors or as problems to be solved within the existing theoretical structure."
C) Passive voice
13. What type of clause is used in the sentence given below from the above passage: "Yet, over time, anomalies that cannot be explained within the current paradigm accumulate."
B) Relative clause