Practice Passage Test - 11 | Practice Passages for MCAT PDF Download

Thomas Hardy, a writer of the late nineteenth century, positioned himself between Matthew Arnold and Walt Whitman in terms of literary style. While he acknowledged the value of scientific knowledge, he believed that new perspectives should incorporate elements from the past. Hardy refused to follow the realist writers who overloaded their works with excessive words in an attempt to depict life and character. He also avoided pure impressionism, striving to maintain a balance between objective reality and his own interpretation. Hardy viewed human events through the lens of the Immanent Will, where circumstance affected individuals, from the emperor to the lowest drunkard. To support his perspective, he delved into philosophy, science, and history, ultimately developing a view known as scientific determinism. He believed that individuals were akin to automatons, influenced by three dominant forces: heredity, education, and environment. Hardy argued that every choice made by an individual was heavily influenced by countless interconnected circumstances. He cited the contrasting beliefs in ancient Greek mythology, Christian doctrine, and the evolving scientific theories of the nineteenth century as evidence for his conclusions. The passage explores the contradiction between the concept of Free Will and Predeterminism.