UPSC Prelims 2024 CSAT Paper II · Q31 of 79 Comprehension medium

Passage

Directions for the following 4 (four) items : Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only. Passage—1 “The history of science is the real history of mankind.” In this striking epigram, a nineteenth-century writer links science with its background. Like most epigrams, its power lies in emphasizing by contrast an aspect of truth which may be easily overlooked. In this case, it is easy to overlook the relations between science and mankind, and to treat the former as some abstract third party, which can sometimes be praised for its beneficial influences, but frequently and conveniently blamed for the horrors of war. Science and mankind cannot be divorced from time to time at men’s convenience. Yet we have seen that, in spite of countless opportunities of improvement, the opening years of the present period of civilization have been dominated by international conflict. Is this the inevitable result of the progress of science or does the fault lie elsewhere?

Which of the following is/are emphatically conveyed by the author of the passage? 1. Without science, mankind could not have continued to exist till today. 2. It is the science that will ultimately determine the destiny of mankind. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2 ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• The passage argues that science and mankind are inextricably linked, stating that 'Science and mankind cannot be divorced from time to time at men’s convenience.'

• The author explicitly rejects the idea of treating science as an 'abstract third party' that is independently praised or blamed, emphasizing that it is part of human history.

• Statement 1 is incorrect because the text does not claim that mankind's existence is biologically or logically dependent on science; rather, it discusses the historical relationship between the two.

• Statement 2 is incorrect because the author questions whether international conflict is an 'inevitable result of the progress of science' or if the 'fault lie[s] elsewhere,' thereby refusing to assign ultimate destiny to science alone.

• Since the author emphasizes the inseparability of science and human agency rather than science's independent power or necessity for survival, neither statement is emphatically conveyed, making option (d) the correct answer.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) 1 only
The passage does not state that mankind could not exist without science, but rather that the two cannot be treated as separate entities in historical analysis.
(b) 2 only
The author explicitly questions whether science determines outcomes like war, suggesting the fault may lie elsewhere, rather than asserting science determines mankind's destiny.
(c) Both 1 and 2
Both statements are rejected because the passage focuses on the inseparable relationship between science and human history, not on science's independent necessity or determinative power.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2024, held on 16 June 2024. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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