The passage below is accompanied by four questions. Based on the passage, choose the best answer for each question.
The Positivists, anxious to stake out their claim for history as a science, contributed the weight of their influence to the cult of facts. First ascertain the facts, said the positivists, then draw your conclusions from them. . . . This is what may [be] called the common-sense view of history. History consists of a corpus of ascertained facts. The facts are available to the historian in documents, inscriptions, and so on . . . [Sir George Clark] contrasted the "hard core of facts" in history with the surrounding pulp of disputable interpretation forgetting perhaps that the pulpy part of the fruit is more rewarding than the hard core. . . . It recalls the favourite dictum of the great liberal journalist C. P. Scott: "Facts are sacred, opinion is free.". . .
What is a historical fact? . . . According to the common-sense view, there are certain basic facts which are the same for all historians and which form, so to speak, the backbone of history—the fact, for example, that the Battle of Hastings was fought in 1066. But this view calls for two observations. In the first place, it is not with facts like these that the historian is primarily concerned. It is no doubt important to know that the great battle was fought in 1066 and not in 1065 or 1067, and that it was fought at Hastings and not at Eastbourne or Brighton. The historian must not get these things wrong. But [to] praise a historian for his accuracy is like praising an architect for using well-seasoned timber or properly mixed concrete in his building. It is a necessary condition of his work, but not his essential function. It is precisely for matters of this kind that the historian is entitled to rely on what have been called the "auxiliary sciences" of history—archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, chronology, and so forth. . . .
The second observation is that the necessity to establish these basic facts rests not on any quality in the facts themselves, but on an apriori decision of the historian. In spite of C. P. Scott's motto, every journalist knows today that the most effective way to influence opinion is by the selection and arrangement of the appropriate facts. It used to be said that facts speak for themselves. This is, of course, untrue. The facts speak only when the historian calls on them: it is he who decides to which facts to give the floor, and in what order or context. . . . The only reason why we are interested to know that the battle was fought at Hastings in 1066 is that historians regard it as a major historical event. . . . Professor Talcott Parsons once called [science] "a selective system of cognitive orientations to reality." It might perhaps have been put more simply. But history is, among other things, that. The historian is necessarily selective. The belief in a hard core of historical facts existing objectively and independently of the interpretation of the historian is a preposterous fallacy, but one which it is very hard to eradicate.
Question for CAT 2023 Reading Comprehension Questions - 7
Try yourself:All of the following, if true, can weaken the passage's claim that facts do not speak for themselves, EXCEPT:
Explanation
- If option B is true, that is, if facts are relative and subject to interpretation, then that strengthens the passage's claim that facts do not speak for themselves. So, option B is the right answer choice.
- The passage claims that facts do not speak for themselves by arguing that while facts are objective and universal and hold true irrespective of the historian who expresses it, it is the historian who decides to which facts to give the floor, and in what order or context, thereby influencing their interpretation. So, all options except B, if true, weaken the passage's claim.
Report a problem
Question for CAT 2023 Reading Comprehension Questions - 7
Try yourself:If the author of the passage were to write a book on the Battle of Hastings along the lines of his/her own reasoning, the focus of the historical account would be on:
Explanation
- The main idea of the passage is that facts speak only when the historian calls on them. The author says that it is because historians regard the Battle of Hastings as a major historical event that we are interested in knowing about it. It is the historian's interpretation of facts that we are interested in.
- So, if the author were to write a book on the Battle of Hastings, the focus of the account would be on subjective interpretations, like exploring the socio-political and economic factors that led to the Battle.
- Options A and D are easily ruled out as they focus on the importance of facts.
- Option B is close, as 'nuanced interpretation' is what the author says historians have to focus on. But option B, unlike option C, emphasizes the role of auxillary sciences in helping a historian do his work. The author says relying on facts that can be gathered from auxiliary sciences of history is "a necessary condition" of a historians' work, "but not his essential function". So, option C is better than B.
Report a problem
Question for CAT 2023 Reading Comprehension Questions - 7
Try yourself:According to this passage, which one of the following statements best describes the significance of archaeology for historians?
Explanation
- Note the context in which the author talks about archaeology and other the "auxiliary sciences" of history: 'But [to] praise a historian for his accuracy is like praising an architect for using well-seasoned timber or properly mixed concrete in his building.
- It is a necessary condition of his work, but not his essential function. It is precisely for matters of this kind that the historian is entitled to rely on what have been called the "auxiliary sciences" of history-archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, chronology, and so forth...'
- The author states auxiliary sciences like archaeology only help historians to ascertain the accuracy of facts. They do not help in the essential function of his work, which is to interpret the facts.
- Option C is the correct choice.
Report a problem
Question for CAT 2023 Reading Comprehension Questions - 7
Try yourself:All of the following describe the "common-sense view" of history, EXCEPT:
Explanation
- According to the passage, the "common-sense" view of history is influenced by the positivist view and so it places great weight on facts. In this view, facts are available to the historian in documents, inscriptions, and so on and history can be objective like the sciences if it is derived from historical facts.
- The author's view is in contrast to the common-sense view. The author believes history is a 'selective' system of cognitive orientations to reality. Facts only speak as the historian interprets them. Option A is the correct answer choice.
Report a problem
