The answer is A in my opinion.Premise: History textbooks frequently need to be revised. Why? Because of the following:
1. new discoveries of documents and remains
2. the discovery of mistaken inferences in prior histories
3. the discovery of previously unnoticed relationships among data
4. the application of hitherto undiscovered principles of natural science.
Premise: All of the above may indicate inadequacies in current history texts and any of these [
four(4)] considerations may require that the past be reinterpreted in a manner that is new and more illuminating.
From the information above, four reasons that may cause a history textbook to revised are presented above. We are to use the information provided to determine which of the answer choices presents a piece of information that can be inferred from the information provided above.
A. The interpretation of historical events is affected by natural science. This can be inferred from the above information in line with point 4. This is the correct answer choice.
B. The past is
constantly renewed because of illuminating reinterpretations. The word constantly renewed is extreme as far as the information provided above is concerned. The first premise, which can be taken as the conclusion of the argument states that history textbooks frequently need to be revised. Whether the revisions actually occurred or not cannot be determined from the argument. So we cannot infer B from the argument above.
C. History books
are outdated as soon as they are written. Wrong inference. History textbooks only need to be revised when any of the four points mentioned above presents a justification for a review. It is extreme and incorrect to say that history textbooks are outdated as soon as they are written per the information provided in the argument.
D. Natural scientists also function as historians. There is no information provided in the argument above that suggests that natural scientists also function as historians. Wrong inference.
E. Historians’ mistaken inferences
are caused by unnoticed relationships among data. This is not true. Mistaken inferences by historians are one of the reasons cited for the need to frequently review history textbooks, just as unnoticed relationships among data. There is no mention of a causal relationship between mistaken inferences and unnoticed relationships among data. E is therefore incorrect.