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Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.
Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But what's wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.
Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.
Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘What's So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).
Q. How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?
  • a)
    Supportive
  • b)
    Indifferent
  • c)
    Mixed
  • d)
    Pessimistic
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
Most Upvoted Answer
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions...
The author's attitude towards the value of science compared to other academic disciplines is supportive. This can be inferred from the statement that scientists, not philosophers, are now seen as "the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge." The author also questions the criticism of scientism and asks what is wrong with valuing science more than other academic disciplines.
Hence, option A is the correct answer.
Free Test
Community Answer
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions...
Perception of Science's Worth
The author presents a supportive view towards the value of science, particularly in the context of its role in knowledge acquisition compared to other academic disciplines, such as philosophy.
Support for Science: Evidence from the Passage
- Hawking's Claim: The passage begins with Stephen Hawking's assertion that philosophy is "dead" and emphasizes that scientists are the "bearers of the torch of discovery." This sets a tone where science is prioritized in the quest for knowledge.
- Valuing Scientific Knowledge: The author discusses different forms of scientism, highlighting that they can be construed as either viewing scientific knowledge as the only form or as the best form. The focus on "best" indicates an appreciation for the contributions of science.
- Weak Scientism: The author identifies their own position as a "weak variety of scientism," which explicitly values scientific knowledge as the best form of knowledge. This stance directly supports the worth of science while acknowledging the existence of other forms of knowledge.
Implications of Supportive Stance
- Epistemological Approach: By defending a weaker form of scientism, the author positions science favorably within the hierarchy of knowledge. They argue that while science might not encompass all forms of knowledge, it holds a superior place among them.
- Debate Engagement: The acknowledgment of different forms of scientism suggests that the author sees value in having a dialogue about the merits of science relative to other disciplines, further reinforcing their supportive stance.
In conclusion, the author perceives science as a valuable and superior form of knowledge compared to other academic disciplines, aligning with a supportive viewpoint toward its worth in the broader context of inquiry and understanding.
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Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
Question Description
Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? for CLAT 2024 is part of CLAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the CLAT exam syllabus. Information about Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for CLAT 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?.
Solutions for Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for CLAT. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for CLAT Exam by signing up for free.
Here you can find the meaning of Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? defined & explained in the simplest way possible. Besides giving the explanation of Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?, a detailed solution for Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? has been provided alongside types of Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? theory, EduRev gives you an ample number of questions to practice Directions: Kindly read the passage carefully and answer the questions given beside.Philosophy is dead, Stephen Hawking once declared, because it ‘has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics! It is scientists, not philosophers, who are now ‘the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge’. The response from some philosophers was to accuse Hawking of ‘scientism’. The charge of ‘scientism is meant to convey disapproval of anyone who values scientific disciplines, such as physics, over non-scientific disciplines, such as philosophy. The philosopher Tom Sorell writes that scientism is ‘a matter of putting too high a value on science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture’. But whats wrong with putting a higher value on science compared with other academic disciplines? What is so bad about scientism? If physics is in fact a better torch in the quest for knowledge than philosophy, as Hawking claimed, then perhaps it should be valued over philosophy and other non-scientific fields of enquiry.Before we can address these questions, however, we need to get our definitions straight. For, much like other philosophical isms, ‘scientism’ means different things to different philosophers. Now, the question of whether science is the only way of knowing about reality, or at least better than non- scientific ways of knowing, is an epistemological question. Construed as an epistemological thesis, then, scientism can be broadly understood as either the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of knowledge we have, or the view that scientific knowledge is the best form of knowledge we have. But scientism comes in other varieties as well, including methodological and metaphysical ones. As a methodological thesis, scientism is either the view that scientific methods are the only. ways of knowing about reality we have, or the view that scientific methods are the best ways of knowing about reality we have. And, construed as a metaphysical thesis, scientism is either the view that science is our only guide to what exists, or the view that science is our best guide to what exists.Without a clear understanding of the aforementioned varieties of scientism, philosophical parties to the scientism debate are at risk of merely talking past each other. That is, some defenders of scientism might be arguing for weaker varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the best ones, while their opponents interpret them as arguing for stronger varieties of scientism, in terms of scientific knowledge or methods being the only ones. My own position, for example, is a weak variety of scientism. In my paper ‘Whats So Bad about Scientism?” (2017), defend scientism as an epistemological thesis, which I call ‘Weak Scientism’. This is the view that scientific knowledge i the best form of knowledge we have (as opposed to ‘Strong Scientist, which is the view that scientific knowledge is the only knowledge we have).Q.How does the author perceive the worth of science in relation to other academic disciplines?a)Supportiveb)Indifferentc)Mixedd)PessimisticCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? tests, examples and also practice CLAT tests.
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