#14 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Purpose/Function

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (A).

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[heartofsunshine]

Hi there,

I put B for #14 instead of the correct answer of A. I narrowed it down to A and B and eliminated all the other answer choices. I ultimately put B instead because when this is mentioned in the passage, it is primarily talking about the political significance, which I guess I took this to mean "economic conditions". Now I'm wondering if "economic conditions" was never actually mentioned therefore B must be wrong and A is true (by process of elimination).

Thank you!

[Jeremy Press]

Hi heartofsunshine,

Great question!

With answer choice B, there's a broader problem than just the reference to "economic conditions," and it boils down to the fact that the author does not in this passage articulate or argue for a "more general thesis regarding the relationship of scientific discovery to the economic conditions of societies in which it takes place." The entire passage is concerned to explain specifically what was happening in Robert Boyle's seventeenth-century laboratory and how the treatment of his technicians was consistent with the employer-employee relationship in that time period. Since the passage focus on that specific issue, it does not state a more general thesis (e.g., "science and what it uncovers is always shaped by the economy of the society in which it takes place").

Answer choice A is correct, because the line 48 discussion does appear alongside the author's discussion of seventeenth-century employer-employee relations, and indicates the author's purpose to explain Boyle's relationship with his technicians as consistent with such relationships.

I hope this helps!

Jeremy