"Men who have read Balzac and Zola are not deceived by the claims of these writers that they do no more than record the facts" (Paragraph 2).
- this implies that the author has known all people who have read these authors... It is more powerful than saying "some men who..."
"Yet the same readers solemnly carry with the from their schooldays this foolish picture of the scientist fixing by some mechanical process the facts of nature" (Paragraph 2).
"No scientific theory is a collection of facts..." (Paragraph 7)
-this generalization implies that there has never been a theory in science in which the scientist simply recorded the natural world and formed a theory without drawing any sort of conclusions...
"All science is the search for unity in hidden likeness" (Paragraph 8).
-implies that the author is familiar with all sciences... it is better to stay away from such statements, ut in this case it is effective in conveying his point...
This essay by Jacob Bronowski is full of logical fallacies, something that would ordinarily make an essay less credible and powerful. However, in "The Nature of Scientific Reasoning" these fallacies are effective in asserting strong claims to the reader showing that the author is quite passionate about his work in science/literature.
(The Nature of Scientific Reasoning by Jacob Bronowski)
I appreciated the way that you broke down each specific generalization as it helped me learn more from the passage. I almost found it interesting that you feel that although the essay is full of logical fallacies, the author was still able to get his point across.
ReplyDeleteI too almost found it interesting.
DeleteI found it interesting. I will always value your opinion Walker. Excellent job.
ReplyDeleteThis way of breaking down the the specific generalizations helped to understand the essay better. I shall try to use the method in understanding other passages also. Thank you
ReplyDelete