Verbal Reasoning Quiz
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In the philosophy of science, some accounts portray scientific progress as a steady accumulation of facts, with theories gradually refined as new evidence arrives. On this view, disagreement is largely a temporary artifact of incomplete data.
Historians of science have emphasized episodes in which standards of evidence and even key terms shifted. For example, what counted as an acceptable explanation in early chemistry differed from later expectations once quantitative measurement became central. Such shifts suggest that progress can involve changes in methodological norms, not only additions of data.
Sociologists, meanwhile, have documented how institutions shape what research gets funded and published. In fields where expensive instruments are required, laboratories with access to capital can set agendas, and certain questions may be neglected even if they are scientifically promising. This can produce consensus around a limited range of approaches.
Yet philosophers also note that despite these social influences, some theories achieve predictive success across diverse contexts, and their robustness can constrain purely sociological accounts of why they are accepted.
Question: The passage as a whole suggests which of the following?
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