Read the passage carefully and answer the items based on it. You are required to select your answers based on the contents of the passage and the opinion of the author only. Historical analysis combines several levels of thinking and study, posing a question about the past, setting up the problem in a form intended to facilitate its solution, solving the problem, and verifying the solution or interpretation. Academic history relies on formal analysis, based on rational and systematic apprehension of relevant evidence. Yet such formal analysis can be seen as a subset of the broader category of interpretation, including responses to evidence that are impressionistic and informal rather than formal and logically structured. Indeed, the many genres of academic and popular history run the full gamut from logically systematic to impressionistic.
Historians come from a widely varying range of philosophical traditions, and the varying philosophies lead to quite different ways of posing questions and answers. The distinctions among philosophical principles sketched here help to show how it is that different analytical priorities arise on the main topics proposed for analysis; they also show how historians can rely on similar data yet come to different or conflicting conclusions. Nineteenth century philosophical outlooks remain central to the world-historical analysis: most notably the dialectics of G.W.F. Hegel and the materialism of Karl Marx. Another great nineteenth-century current of thought was positivism, elaborated by Auguste Comte and focusing on study through breaking large problems into small ones, seeking deterministic relationship within the smaller problems. Philosophies of structuralism and post modernism have developed in more recent times, rejecting the positivist separation of problems into discrete sub-problems and emphasizing interaction among aspects of a problem.
Understanding Historical Causality and External Influences
The question asks us to identify a phrase from the provided passage that best represents the idea that "all events and human actions are ultimately shaped by causes external to the will." This means we are looking for a concept that suggests events are predetermined or heavily influenced by factors outside of individual choice or intention.
Analyzing the Passage for Key Concepts
Let's examine how the passage discusses different approaches to historical analysis and philosophical influences:
- The passage mentions that historians come from "widely varying range of philosophical traditions," which leads to different ways of posing questions and arriving at conclusions, sometimes even from similar data.
- It highlights 19th-century philosophical outlooks like Hegelian dialectics and Marxist materialism.
- Crucially, it discusses **positivism**, elaborated by Auguste Comte. The passage states that positivism focuses on studying problems by "breaking large problems into small ones, seeking deterministic relationship within the smaller problems."
Evaluating the Options Based on the Passage
Now, let's consider each option in the context of the passage and the question's core idea:
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1. Impressionistic: The passage describes impressionistic history as informal and less logically structured, contrasting it with formal analysis. This approach doesn't inherently imply that events are shaped by external causes; rather, it speaks to the *method* of interpretation.
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2. Idealist approach to history: While not explicitly defined in the passage, idealism generally posits that ideas or consciousness are fundamental. This often contrasts with the idea that material or external factors are the primary drivers of events.
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3. Deterministic relationship: The passage directly links "seeking deterministic relationship" to positivism. Determinism is the philosophical concept that all events, including human actions, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. This directly aligns with the assertion in the question.
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4. Dialectics: Dialectics, mentioned in relation to Hegel and Marx, involves a process of change driven by the conflict of opposing ideas or forces. While it describes a form of historical progression, the term "deterministic relationship" more precisely captures the idea of being shaped by external, pre-existing causes.
Conclusion on External Causality
The phrase "deterministic relationship," as presented in the passage within the context of positivism, most accurately reflects the assertion that "all events and human actions are ultimately shaped by causes external to the will." It signifies a belief that events follow necessarily from antecedent causes and conditions.
Similar Questions
- According to the passage, what can adversely affect the walking tour ?
'The many genres of academic and popular history run the full gamut from logically systematic to impressionistic' means:
- What, according to the author, makes historians come to conflicting conclusions?
1. They are influenced by their philosophical beliefs in asking questions on the same data.
2. They apply different interpretations on the same data.
3. They go for the primary data and evidence.
4. They are influenced by the current political developments.
Select the correct answer using the code given below: - Which one of the following relates to the post-modernist approach to History?
- According to the passage, what is the primary purpose of a walking tour?
- According to the passage, a walking tour should be gone upon alone because :
- According to the passage, how should a walking tour conclude ?
- What is the meaning of the word "dilettantes" in the passage?
- Which of the following does not amount to historical analysis?
S1. The beauty of India’s democracy rests in the greatness of its Constitution.
S2. The Constitution of India upholds the collective values of the country’s civilizational ethos.
Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
What is the meaning of ‘intrigued’?
What are ice shelves?
What are icebergs?
When the iceberg turns upside down, it appears ________.
The use of science in its simple form has helped man to ____________
