hero_with_1000_faces wrote:
generisI just want your confirmation on my understanding of option "D"
(D) individualism and studying European women of the Renaissance, anthropologists define a peculiar form of personhood as an innately bounded unit
So in this, the statement "
anthropologists define a peculiar form of personhood as an innately bounded unit" this is a
fact, which remains eternally True at all times.
in E "has defined" is not appropriate as definition still exist and remain as is, so it cannot be past tense right ?
hero_with_1000_faces , I am not sure I understand what you are asking.
Your language is a bit strong, and as written, it suggests that the definition itself is some Eternal truth. '
The sentence is not about the content of the definition.
The sentence is about a particular group of scholars under certain conditions.
That groups defines X as Y.
How, logically, do we jump from "[these particular] anthropologists define X as Y" to "these anthropologists' definition of X as Y is an unchanging, eternal truth"?
The sentence does not imply the latter and it does not have to do so.
The sentence is descriptive.
It narrows down a group of anthropologists who define X as Y.
With respect to (E):
has defined is not past tense. It's present perfect. I do not follow your past tense question.
Are you also asking whether (E) is wrong mostly because "has defined" is not "defines" ? If that is also your question, then, no.
Option E is incorrect because:
(1) Defined
to be is not idiomatic. The phrase is not very logical, either.
(2)
the anthropologist who has studied European women of the Renaissance suggests that we know who this person is.
AN anthropologist who has studied would be correct.
Some people might let the "the" pass grammar inspection. The reference is still not as good as "anthropologists" (unknown to us) in (D). Not THE anthropologists. This test is multiple choice. D is better than E.
(3) the focus of the sentence is on systems of beliefs, scholarly undertakings, and a result in one field.
Or are you saying that option (D) should state "anthropologists have defined"?
When Stephen Hawking was alive, should I have said, "Stephen Hawking
has defined black holes as regions of spacetime that can emit radiation and can evaporate." ??
Are you suggesting that when Hawking was alive, I could
not have said, "Stephen Hawking defines black holes as regions of spacetime that can emit radiation and can evaporate." ??
Google
"A Brief History of Time" book review and read a review from 1988 through 1992.
Or take the example below.
This excerpt is from a book review of Stephen Hawking's
A Brief History of Time:
In his preliminary figurings, Mr. Hawking surmises that the embryonic universe did not emerge from a singularity. Instead, he imagines a union of space and time that was finite yet boundless in the beginning, much the way the surface of a globe has no edges. Current astronomical observations do not support Mr. Hawking's vision . . . Bartusiak, M.
The New York Times. April 3, 1988. Accessed
here, September 27, 2019.
The words in blue are simple present tense. They describe the thought process of a scholar.
Option D describes the thought processes of a group of scholars.
Rendition in simple present is appropriate.
I hope that answer helps. If it does not, you could reframe your question and include (1) what bothers you about D (2) what rule or guideline you think that D violates.
I worked hard to understand what you were asking, but I am not sure that I succeeded.
_________________
—The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. ~Einstein—I stand with Ukraine.
Donate to Help Ukraine!