Question

circling the unknowns, inching toward truth through argument and experiment is how progress is made.
in this sentence, argument means:
something that is remembered
a feeling of hope about the future
anything that protects someone from hardship
a methodical process of logical reasoning

Explanation:

In the context of pursuing truth through argument and experiment, "argument" refers to a logical - reasoning process. It is a way of presenting and analyzing ideas to reach conclusions, which is a methodological process of logical reasoning.

Answer:

a methodical process of logical reasoning