In the passage about avoiding foolish opinions and the need to rely on observation, the author criticises confident statements made without evidence and praises simple factual checking. Considering this emphasis on evidence, how can the authors overall attitude best be described?

Introduction / Context:
The same passage on foolish opinions and errors in belief not only gives rules for avoiding mistakes but also shows a certain attitude of mind. The author insists that people should observe the world directly when possible and criticises those who make dogmatic claims without any factual basis. The exam question asks how to label this overall attitude.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The author tells readers to make observations themselves when a fact can be checked in that way.
• The passage uses the example of counting teeth to show how simple observation can correct errors.
• It criticises ancient and medieval writers who described unicorns and salamanders without ever seeing them.
• The language promotes caution, evidence, and verification rather than blind faith in tradition or hearsay.
• The focus is on a practical, evidence based approach to forming opinions.

Concept / Approach:
The question is about tone and intellectual style. An attitude that values observation, testing, and evidence, and that warns against unsupported claims, is usually described as scientific. It does not mean that the author is doing laboratory experiments, but that the method values facts over myth. We must distinguish this from purely cultural, cynical, or abstractly philosophical attitudes, which either focus on other aspects of life or do not emphasise evidence in the same way.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the repeated advice in the passage: check facts through observation. Step 2: Note the examples, such as counting teeth and verifying animal behaviour, which are all about looking at the real world. Step 3: Recognise that this pattern of thought places observation above tradition and untested authority. Step 4: Match this pattern to the given labels: cultural, scientific, cynical, or philosophical. Step 5: Conclude that scientific is the best label because it captures the emphasis on evidence and fact checking.

Verification / Alternative check:
Ask whether the author is mainly concerned with traditions, rituals, or customs. The answer is no, so cultural is not suitable. Then ask whether the author is expressing bitter distrust of everything, which would be cynical; in fact, he is optimistic that simple rules can avoid many errors. Next, ask whether the whole passage is about deep questions of meaning without reference to facts. It clearly is not. Therefore, only the term scientific correctly captures the stress on observation and avoidance of dogmatic claims.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Option A, cultural, would fit a passage about customs, festivals, or social practices, but not a passage about checking facts by counting or observing.
• Option C, cynical, suggests a despairing or mocking attitude toward all knowledge. The author criticises careless thinking but believes that better methods can improve matters.
• Option D, philosophical, might partly apply, but philosophical alone does not highlight the specific focus on observation and empirical checking that dominates the passage.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse the presence of a well known philosopher like Aristotle with a philosophical attitude, even when the method being praised is practical and observational. Another pitfall is thinking that scientific must always involve complicated experiments. In reality, the scientific attitude starts with simple observations and logical conclusions, exactly as shown in the passage.

Final Answer:
Because the author consistently urges readers to rely on factual observation and avoid unsupported claims, his attitude is best described as Scientific, stressing observation and evidence before belief.