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Patterns of Creativity

NCERT Class 11 · English Based on NCERT Class 11 English textbook · Free CBSE study kit

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Chapter Notes

Overview
This chapter, written by Nobel laureate S. Chandrasekhar, explores the differing patterns of creativity among scientists and poets. It examines the historical tension between science and literature, using the contrasting attitudes of Wordsworth and Keats versus Shelley towards science. The central argument is that while science and poetry are often seen as competing, they can be complementary, with Shelley's work exemplifying a fusion of scientific precision and poetic imagination. The one big idea a student must walk away with is that creativity in science and art is not mutually exclusive; the greatest minds often integrate both, and the absence of a 'Defence of Science' comparable to Shelley's 'Defence of Poetry' highlights a fundamental difference in how these disciplines perceive themselves.
Key Concepts (12)
Cold philosophy
A term used by Keats to describe science or rational analysis that, in his view, destroys the beauty and mystery of nature by dissecting it.
e.g. A student analyzing the chemical composition of a rainbow instead of simply appreciating its beauty is applying 'cold philosophy'.
Mutually sustaining endeavours
Activities or disciplines that support and nourish each other towards a common goal, as opposed to competing.
e.g. In a school science fair, a student writes a poem about the water cycle, showing how science and poetry can be mutually sustaining.
Picaresque tale
A genre of prose fiction that depicts the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society.
e.g. The adventures of a cloud traveling across the sky, changing form, and interacting with the earth and sky, as described in Shelley's 'The Cloud', is a picaresque tale.
Cenotaph
An empty tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person whose remains are elsewhere.
e.g. In Shelley's 'The Cloud', the cloud laughs at its own 'cenotaph' because after the rain, the sky is clear, and the cloud's former form is gone, but it will arise again.
Atrophy
The gradual decline or wasting away of a body part, organ, or mental faculty.
e.g. Darwin lamented the 'atrophy' of his taste for poetry and music, meaning his capacity to enjoy them had wasted away as his scientific mind developed.
Looked askance
To look at something with suspicion, disapproval, or distrust.
e.g. Faraday's revolutionary ideas about 'lines of force' were 'looked askance' by many of his contemporaries who were skeptical of his unconventional thinking.
Prophetic discernment
The ability to perceive or predict future events or developments with great insight and accuracy.
e.g. Maxwell showed 'prophetic discernment' when he recognized Faraday as a mathematician of a very high order, foreseeing the future science that would emerge from his ideas.
Apposite
Apt or appropriate in the circumstances.
e.g. Chandrasekhar finds Shelley's comment about the cultivation of sciences 'apposite' to Darwin's confession, meaning it is perfectly fitting and relevant.
Hierophants of an unapprehended inspiration
Interpreters or revealers of a divine or mysterious inspiration that is not yet understood or grasped by others.
e.g. Shelley calls poets 'hierophants of an unapprehended inspiration' because they express truths and ideas that even they do not fully comprehend, acting as channels for future knowledge.
Interlunations of life
The dark, obscure, or barren periods in life, analogous to the time between the old moon and the new moon when no moon is visible.
e.g. Poetry 'arrests the vanishing apparitions which haunt the interlunations of life', meaning it captures and preserves the fleeting, beautiful moments that appear during life's dark or uneventful phases.
Unacknowledged legislators of the world
A phrase by Shelley meaning that poets, through their imaginative and moral vision, shape the laws, values, and consciousness of society without holding formal political power.
e.g. A poet writing about social injustice may inspire future laws and reforms, thus acting as an 'unacknowledged legislator'.
Meddling intellect
Wordsworth's term for the human mind's tendency to interfere with and dissect nature, thereby destroying its inherent beauty and spiritual essence.
e.g. When a child asks 'why is the sky blue?' and a parent gives a complex scientific explanation instead of letting the child marvel, that is the 'meddling intellect' at work.
How It Works
The Argument of Contrasting Attitudes (Wordsworth/Keats vs. Shelley)
  1. Step 1: Chandrasekhar presents the negative view of science by quoting Wordsworth ('We murder to dissect') and Keats ('cold philosophy will clip an Angel's wings').
  2. Step 2: He counters this by presenting Peter Medawar's view that literature expels science, showing the mutual hostility.
  3. Step 3: He then introduces Shelley as a 'scientist's poet' who loved science, using King-Hele's and Whitehead's testimonies.
  4. Step 4: He provides evidence from Shelley's poetry ('The Cloud' and 'Prometheus Unbound') to show the fusion of scientific precision and poetic imagination.
  5. Step 5: The process concludes by suggesting that the negative attitudes of Wordsworth and Keats are not typical, and that a more integrated view is possible.
💡 Students often forget that Chandrasekhar does not dismiss Wordsworth and Keats; he simply argues their view is not the only one. The key is to contrast their 'science destroys beauty' view with Shelley's 'science enhances beauty' view.
Darwin's Confession and its Implication
  1. Step 1: Chandrasekhar quotes Darwin's confession that he lost his taste for poetry, music, and pictures as he aged.
  2. Step 2: Darwin describes his mind as a 'machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts'.
  3. Step 3: Darwin expresses bewilderment at the 'atrophy' of the part of his brain responsible for 'higher tastes'.
  4. Step 4: Chandrasekhar uses this to illustrate a potential danger of single-minded scientific pursuit: the loss of aesthetic sensibility.
  5. Step 5: He then links this to Shelley's warning in 'A Defence of Poetry' that the cultivation of sciences, without the 'poetical faculty', can enslave the internal world of man.
💡 The trap here is to think Darwin was proud of this. He was not; he was lamenting it. The key point is the 'atrophy' of aesthetic taste due to excessive specialization.
Faraday's Response and Maxwell's Prophetic Discernment
  1. Step 1: Chandrasekhar describes Faraday's discovery of electromagnetic induction and his formulation of 'lines of force' and 'fields of force'.
  2. Step 2: He notes that these ideas were 'looked askance' by many contemporaries because they were foreign to prevailing modes of thought.
  3. Step 3: Maxwell, however, wrote with 'prophetic discernment', recognizing Faraday as a 'mathematician of a very high order' and foreseeing a future science based on his ideas.
  4. Step 4: Chandrasekhar then narrates the anecdote of Gladstone asking Faraday 'what use is it?' and Faraday's witty retort: 'you will soon be able to tax it'.
  5. Step 5: This process shows the tension between pure scientific curiosity (Faraday) and utilitarian demands (Gladstone), and the importance of visionary recognition (Maxwell).
💡 Students often miss the irony: Faraday's 'useless' discovery led to the entire electrical industry. The anecdote is used to defend pure science against the demand for immediate utility.
Shelley's Defence of Poetry as the Climax of the Argument
  1. Step 1: Chandrasekhar introduces Shelley's 'A Defence of Poetry' as a 'most moving document' and quotes Yeats's praise of it.
  2. Step 2: He quotes Shelley's definition of poetry as 'the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and the best minds'.
  3. Step 3: He quotes Shelley's claim that poetry 'comprehends all science' and is 'the root and blossom of all other systems of thought'.
  4. Step 4: He quotes the famous lines about poets being 'the unacknowledged legislators of the world' and 'hierophants of an unapprehended inspiration'.
  5. Step 5: Chandrasekhar concludes by asking why there is no similar 'A Defence of Science' written by a scientist of equal endowment, suggesting that this absence itself reveals a fundamental difference in the patterns of creativity between the two fields.
💡 The final question is the core of the chapter. Students must understand that Chandrasekhar is not answering the question directly, but using the 'assortment of remarks' to make the reader ponder why scientists do not feel the need to defend their discipline in the same way poets do.
Exam Traps — Don't Make These Mistakes
⚠ Confusing Wordsworth's and Keats's view with Chandrasekhar's own view
✗ Chandrasekhar believes that science destroys beauty, as shown by the quotes from Wordsworth and Keats.
→ Chandrasekhar presents Wordsworth and Keats as one side of the argument, but he explicitly says their attitudes are 'by no means typical' and counters them with Shelley's positive view. He is not endorsing their view.
✓ Chandrasekhar presents the negative view of science held by Wordsworth and Keats, but he counters it by presenting Shelley's positive, integrated view of science and poetry.
⚠ Misinterpreting Darwin's 'atrophy' as a positive development
✗ Darwin's loss of taste for poetry shows that a scientist must focus only on facts and logic to be successful.
→ Darwin himself says he 'cannot conceive' why this atrophy happened and laments it. Chandrasekhar uses this as a cautionary tale about the narrowing of the mind, not as a model to emulate.
✓ Darwin's confession is presented as a lamentable example of how intense specialization in science can lead to the atrophy of aesthetic sensibilities, a loss he himself regretted.
⚠ Thinking Chandrasekhar answers the central question directly
✗ Chandrasekhar concludes that scientists are more creative than poets, or vice versa.
→ Chandrasekhar explicitly says, 'I shall not attempt to answer this question directly; but I shall make an assortment of remarks which may bear on the answer.' The chapter is an exploration, not a direct answer.
✓ Chandrasekhar does not provide a direct answer to why patterns of creativity differ. Instead, he offers a series of observations and examples (Wordsworth vs. Shelley, Darwin's confession, Faraday's anecdote) that illuminate the complex relationship between science and poetry.
⚠ Confusing 'unacknowledged legislators' with literal lawmakers
✗ Shelley says poets should become politicians and make laws.
→ The phrase is metaphorical. Shelley means poets shape the moral and intellectual climate of society, influencing the values and ideas that eventually become laws, without holding formal political office.
✓ Shelley's phrase 'unacknowledged legislators' means that poets, through their imaginative and moral vision, shape the foundational ideas and values of society, thereby influencing legislation indirectly, without being formal lawmakers.
⚠ Misreading Faraday's 'tax it' response as a sign of greed
✗ Faraday was only interested in making money from his discovery.
→ Faraday's response was a witty and ironic retort to Gladstone's utilitarian question. It shows Faraday's confidence that his 'useless' pure science would eventually have immense practical and economic value.
✓ Faraday's response, 'Why, Sir, there is every probability that you will soon be able to tax it,' is a clever and prophetic defense of pure scientific research, implying that even the most abstract discoveries eventually yield immense practical benefits.
Compare & Contrast
View of science's impact on nature and beauty
Wordsworth's and Keats's attitude to science
Shelley's attitude to science
Wordsworth and Keats see science as a destructive, 'cold philosophy' that 'murders to dissect' and destroys the beauty of nature (e.g., the rainbow). Shelley, in contrast, loves science and sees it as a source of 'joy, and peace, and illumination,' integrating scientific precision (e.g., the water cycle in 'The Cloud') with poetic imagination.
Function and scope of the mind
Darwin's view of his own mind
Shelley's view of the poet's mind
Darwin describes his mind as a 'machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts,' implying a narrow, specialized, and mechanical function that led to the atrophy of his aesthetic tastes. Shelley, in 'A Defence of Poetry,' describes the poet's mind as encompassing 'the centre and circumference of knowledge,' integrating all science and art, and serving as the 'root and blossom of all other systems of thought.'
Exam Focus
Marks pattern: This chapter typically appears in the CBSE Class 11 English (Woven Words) exam with 1-2 short answer questions (2-3 marks each) focusing on interpretation of quotes, and 1 long answer question (5-6 marks) on the central argument or comparison of attitudes. Vocabulary-based questions (1 mark) on terms like 'cenotaph', 'atrophy', 'apposite' are also common.
Most asked: Contrast between Wordsworth/Keats and Shelley's attitudes towards science · Explanation of Shelley's 'unacknowledged legislators of the world' · Significance of Darwin's confession about losing his taste for literature · The anecdote of Faraday and Gladstone ('What use is it?') · The meaning of 'cold philosophy' and 'we murder to dissect'
Don't skip: Long answer question (5-6 marks): 'How does Chandrasekhar use the examples of Darwin and Faraday to explore the patterns of creativity in science?'; Short answer question (3 marks): 'Explain Shelley's statement: "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."'; Short answer question (2 marks): 'Why does Chandrasekhar call Shelley a "scientist's poet"?'
One-Line Revision (read aloud before the exam)
  1. Chandrasekhar explores the differing patterns of creativity in science and poetry without directly answering why they differ.
  2. Wordsworth and Keats viewed science as a destructive force that 'murders to dissect' and clips an angel's wings.
  3. Shelley is presented as a 'scientist's poet' who loved science and integrated it into his poetry.
  4. Shelley's 'The Cloud' fuses a creative myth, a scientific monograph, and a picaresque tale.
  5. Darwin lamented the atrophy of his taste for poetry and music as his scientific mind developed.
  6. Faraday's response to Gladstone ('you will soon be able to tax it') defends pure science against utilitarian demands.
  7. Maxwell showed prophetic discernment by recognizing Faraday as a mathematician of a very high order.
  8. Shelley's 'A Defence of Poetry' calls poets the 'unacknowledged legislators of the world'.
  9. Shelley claims poetry is 'the centre and circumference of knowledge' and 'comprehends all science'.
  10. Chandrasekhar asks why there is no 'A Defence of Science' written by a scientist of equal endowment to Shelley.
  11. The term 'cold philosophy' refers to Keats's view of science as destroying the beauty of the rainbow.
  12. The word 'cenotaph' in Shelley's poem refers to the empty tomb of the cloud after it has dissipated.
  13. The central argument is that science and poetry are not necessarily incompatible; Shelley's work proves they can be mutually sustaining.
  14. The 'interlunations of life' are the dark, barren periods that poetry illuminates and preserves.

MCQs — 10 Questions with Answers

Q1. What is the main concern of Wordsworth and Keats regarding science as expressed in their quoted lines?

  • A. Science is too difficult for poets to understand and use
  • B. Scientific analysis destroys the beauty and mystery of natural things ✓
  • C. Scientists should study nature more carefully like poets do
  • D. Poetry and science have no connection whatsoever

Answer: B — Wordsworth's 'We murder to dissect' and Keats's reference to 'cold philosophy' both express the fear that breaking things down analytically destroys their emotional and aesthetic power.

Q2. Which of the following best describes Shelley's attitude to science?

  • A. He believed science was harmful and should be avoided by poets
  • B. He saw science as a source of joy, illumination, and poetic inspiration ✓
  • C. He thought science and poetry could never be combined meaningfully
  • D. He viewed science as inferior to art and literature

Answer: B — According to Whitehead and King-Hele's analysis cited in the passage, Shelley loved science and expressed scientific thoughts poetically, symbolising 'joy, and peace, and illumination.'

Q3. What does Darwin's confession reveal about the relationship between specialisation and the mind?

  • A. Focusing only on poetry makes one incapable of scientific thought
  • B. Extensive factual research can atrophy the emotional and aesthetic faculties of the brain ✓
  • C. Science automatically improves one's appreciation of all forms of art
  • D. The brain can only process either scientific or artistic information, not both

Answer: B — Darwin explicitly states his mind became 'a kind of machine for grinding general laws' and that this caused the 'atrophy of that part of the brain alone on which the higher tastes depend.'

Q4. In Shelley's Cloud poem, the line 'I silently laugh at my own cenotaph' suggests that—

  • A. The cloud is sad and mourning its own death
  • B. The cloud acknowledges death but celebrates its eternal renewal and transformation ✓
  • C. The cloud is mocking human burial practices
  • D. The cloud represents human failure and emptiness

Answer: B — A cenotaph is an empty tomb; the cloud laughs because it appears to die (evaporate) but rises again unchanged, symbolising nature's eternal cycle and the impossibility of true death.

Q5. According to Maxwell's assessment of Faraday, which claim is most accurate?

  • A. Faraday was primarily a poet trying to understand mathematics
  • B. Faraday's visionary thinking, though rejected initially, represented genuine mathematical insight ✓
  • C. Faraday's work was outdated and had no relevance to future science
  • D. Maxwell proved that Faraday's concepts of force were scientifically wrong

Answer: B — Maxwell wrote with 'prophetic discernment' that Faraday was 'a mathematician of a very high order' and that future mathematicians would derive valuable methods from his ideas, despite contemporary rejection.

Q6. What is the primary weakness in Gladstone's attitude when he asks Faraday, 'But after all, what use is it?'

  • A. He is too impatient and should have waited for Faraday to finish
  • B. He ignores the deeper intellectual and spiritual value of scientific discovery for immediate practical application ✓
  • C. He does not understand that electricity has no practical use whatsoever
  • D. He is deliberately trying to insult Faraday and mock his work

Answer: B — Gladstone's question represents a purely utilitarian mindset that misses the deeper intellectual value; Faraday's witty response about taxing electricity shows how short-sighted such practical-only thinking can be.

Q7. According to Shelley's Defence of Poetry, what happens when science develops without the influence of the poetical faculty?

  • A. Science becomes more objective and therefore more reliable
  • B. Man loses touch with his internal world and remains enslaved despite external mastery ✓
  • C. Poetry loses all relevance and should be abandoned entirely
  • D. Science and poetry merge into a single unified discipline

Answer: B — Shelley states explicitly: 'The cultivation of those sciences...has, for want of the poetical faculty, proportionally circumscribed those of the internal world; and man, having enslaved the elements, remains himself a slave.'

Q8. Which of the following statements about the essay's central thesis is CORRECT, and which is NOT? Assertion (A): Science and literature must inevitably compete and cannot coexist. Reason (R): Chandrasekhar argues that great creators like Shelley and Faraday proved they can be mutually sustaining.

  • A. Both A and R are true, but R does not explain A
  • B. A is false; R correctly explains why A is false ✓
  • C. Both A and R are true, and R explains A
  • D. Both A and R are false

Answer: B — A is false because Chandrasekhar's essay refutes the necessity of competition; R is true and correctly explains the refutation through examples of integrated creative thinking.

Q9. The phrase 'interlunations of life' in Shelley's Defence refers to—

  • A. The phases of the moon and their effect on human behaviour
  • B. Dark intervals or gaps in experience where beauty and truth seem to vanish ✓
  • C. The time periods between scientific discoveries and literary works
  • D. The moments when poets and scientists refuse to work together

Answer: B — In context, Shelley uses 'interlunations' (dark intervals between lunar phases) metaphorically to mean the fleeting, vanishing moments of excellence that poetry must 'arrest' and preserve.

Q10. Based on the passage, Chandrasekhar's main purpose is to— (i) prove that Romantic poets were entirely wrong about science (ii) demonstrate that the conflict between science and literature is attitudinal, not inherent (iii) show that Shelley provides a model for integrated creative thinking

  • A. (i) and (ii) only
  • B. (ii) and (iii) only ✓
  • C. (i) and (iii) only
  • D. All three are equally central

Answer: B — Chandrasekhar acknowledges Wordsworth and Keats had a point but argues their attitudes were not typical; he uses Shelley's example to show that integration is possible and desirable, supporting both (ii) and (iii).

Flashcards

What does Wordsworth mean by 'We murder to dissect'?

Scientific analysis destroys the natural beauty and emotional power of things by breaking them into lifeless parts.

How does Shelley differ from Wordsworth in his view of science?

Shelley celebrated science and expressed scientific ideas poetically, seeing it as a source of joy and illumination rather than a threat to beauty.

What is the significance of Darwin's confession about losing his taste for poetry?

Darwin reveals that excessive focus on factual analysis can atrophy the creative and emotional parts of the mind essential for appreciating art.

What did Maxwell recognize about Faraday's concept of 'lines of force'?

Maxwell saw that Faraday's ideas were genuinely mathematical and visionary, though rejected by contemporaries, and would inspire future scientific methods.

What is Shelley's main argument in A Defence of Poetry?

Poetry is the foundation of all knowledge and must guide science; without poetical faculty, humanity becomes enslaved despite technical mastery.

Why does Gladstone's question to Faraday ('What use is it?') matter in this essay?

It represents the practical-minded approach that ignores the deeper intellectual and spiritual value of scientific discovery.

What does 'cenotaph' mean in Shelley's Cloud poem, and why is it significant?

A cenotaph is a tomb without a body; Shelley uses it to show the cloud laughs at its own apparent death, symbolising nature's eternal renewal.

What is meant by 'interlunations of life' in Shelley's Defence?

The dark intervals or gaps in human experience where beauty and truth vanish; poetry preserves these fleeting moments of excellence.

Why does Chandrasekhar emphasise that Shelley is 'a scientist's poet'?

Because Shelley understood scientific principles deeply and expressed them with poetic precision, proving science and art can coexist harmoniously.

What is the central tension Chandrasekhar explores in this essay?

Whether science and literature must compete and exclude each other, or whether they can be mutually sustaining paths to understanding truth.

Important Board Questions

What does Wordsworth mean by the phrase 'We murder to dissect'? Give one example of how this applies to scientific study. [2 marks]

Explain that dissection = breaking into parts destroys whole beauty. Example: analysing a poem's grammar loses its emotional impact, or studying a flower's anatomy removes its aesthetic wonder.

How does Shelley's attitude toward science differ from that of Wordsworth and Keats? Justify your answer with reference to at least two examples from the passage. [5 marks]

Shelley embraced science; Wordsworth/Keats rejected it. Use: (1) Cloud poem fused science + myth + adventure; (2) Prometheus Unbound celebrated human intellect; (3) A Defence states poetry should guide science, not oppose it. Show integration, not conflict.

Analyse Chandrasekhar's argument that 'the conflict between science and literature is attitudinal rather than fundamental.' In your answer, discuss (a) the evidence he provides through Darwin and Faraday, and (b) what Shelley's Defence of Poetry contributes to resolving this conflict. [6 marks]

Darwin's atrophy shows over-specialisation harms the mind; Faraday's visionary thinking was rejected but later vindicated—both show the problem is perspective, not incompatibility. Shelley's Defence argues poetry must remain the foundation guiding all knowledge, including science, to prevent humanity from enslaving itself despite technical mastery.

Assertion-Reason Questions for Patterns of Creativity

Q1. Assertion (A):

Wordsworth and Keats viewed science as destructive to the beauty and wonder of nature.

Reason (R):

Both poets believed that scientific analysis and rational understanding destroy the magical quality of natural phenomena through dissection and cataloguing.

Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — Both the assertion and reason are true, and the reason correctly explains why Wordsworth and Keats held their negative view of science. The quoted lines from both poets support this philosophical position.

Q2. Assertion (A):

Shelley's attitude towards science was fundamentally different from that of Wordsworth.

Reason (R):

Shelley loved science and integrated scientific knowledge with poetic expression, unlike Wordsworth who viewed science as harmful to the poetical imagination.

Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — The assertion is true—Shelley is called 'the scientist's poet'—and the reason correctly explains the difference. A.N. Whitehead's quote confirms that Shelley's attitude was 'at the opposite pole' to Wordsworth's, and he used science as a source of 'joy, peace, and illumination.'

Q3. Assertion (A):

Charles Darwin's loss of appreciation for poetry and music resulted from his conscious decision to focus entirely on scientific research.

Reason (R):

Darwin explicitly stated that he deliberately chose to abandon his literary interests to become a better scientist.

Answer: D — A is false but R is true — The assertion is false because Darwin's confession shows his loss was involuntary and unconscious ('I cannot conceive' why this happened). The reason is also false because the passage does not support that Darwin made a deliberate choice; rather, his mind specialized unconsciously.

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Case-Based Questions (CBQ) for Patterns of Creativity

Case Study:

A young science student, Priya, attended a poetry recitation and was struck by how Shelley's 'Cloud' described water cycle processes with scientific accuracy while maintaining poetic beauty. She realized that her physics textbook explained the same phenomenon—evaporation, condensation, precipitation—in purely mechanical terms. Moved by this experience, Priya began exploring how poets and scientists approach the same natural processes differently. She discovered that both Shelley's poetic description and her physics formulas describe the same reality, yet each offers unique insights. This discovery challenged her earlier belief that science and poetry were competing, irreconcilable disciplines.

Q1. What does Priya's discovery suggest about the relationship between science and poetry as described in the passage?

  • A. They are competing disciplines that cannot coexist
  • B. They are complementary ways of understanding the same reality ✓
  • C. Poetry is less accurate than science
  • D. Science cannot appreciate beauty like poetry can

Answer: B

Q2. Which character from the main passage would most likely support Priya's conclusion?

  • A. Wordsworth and Keats
  • B. Peter Medawar
  • C. Shelley and A.N. Whitehead ✓
  • D. Lowes Dickinson

Answer: C

Q3. According to the original passage, why might Shelley's approach be more valuable for students like Priya than a purely scientific approach?

  • A. Poetry is always more accurate than science
  • B. It engages both the rational and imaginative faculties ✓
  • C. Scientific textbooks are deliberately written to be boring
  • D. Poetry requires no mathematical knowledge

Answer: B

Q4. How would Chandrasekhar likely respond to Priya's experience based on the passage?

  • A. He would warn her that poetry will damage her scientific abilities
  • B. He would suggest she abandon one discipline for the other
  • C. He would support her view that both offer complementary ways of understanding nature ✓
  • D. He would claim that Shelley was not a genuine scientist

Answer: C

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