In quantum physics, Karen Barad's theory of agential realism—which emphasizes the entanglement, or "intra-action," of human and nonhuman actors—is a foundational rebuke to the dualistic subject-object divide that has undergirded scientific epistemology for centuries. _____ Barad's theory presents a paradigmatic shift in the scientific understanding of reality and the quantum world.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
Explanation
Context: The text presents Karen Barad's agential realism, which stresses the intra-action of human and nonhuman actors, as a foundational rebuke to the subject-object divide behind centuries of scientific epistemology. The blank leads into the claim that the theory is a paradigmatic shift.
Answer: C) As such,
Why? Being a foundational rebuke to a centuries-old framework is exactly what makes the theory a paradigm shift, so the second sentence draws its conclusion from the description in the first.
Traps:
- A) "For example," would make the paradigm shift an instance of the theory, when it is a judgment about that same theory.
- B) "By contrast," needs two things set against each other, and both sentences characterize Barad's work in the same direction.
- D) "That said," concedes a qualification, but the second sentence amplifies the first instead of pulling back from it.