#10 - Concept Reference, Must Be True, Subject Perspective

[brcibake]

I struggled with this passage and thought this answer was D but was stuck between D and E. They both seem like generally parallel ideas so I'm not sure why D would not work.
Thank you

[James Finch]

Hi B,

The key to this Must Be True question is understanding exactly what Goodrich's analysis of common law is, according to the author of the passage. Goodrich is only mentioned in the third/last paragraph, and his ideas are introduced by a "however" in the first sentence of that paragraph, distinguishing them from the ones already presented. Here the first and last sentences give the clearest indication of how Goodrich sees the common law: "a continually developing tradition rather than a set of rules" and "not only the preservation and transmission of existing forms, but also the continuous rewriting of those forms to adapt them to contemporary legal circumstances." From this readers should take away the idea of a continual evolution and adaptation of common law to changing circumstances. The middle sentences, referring to his ideas about analogizing the common law to literature, serve to try confuse test takers as to the main argument that he is presented as making.

Now looking at Question 10, and specifically answer choices (D) and (E), (E) presents a view that in the future common law will have evolved, while (D) presents a view that common law is not applicable to modern life (presumably because it hasn't evolved). Goodrich's view of common law is as a constantly evolving "text," which agrees with (E)'s idea of a changed "text" of common law that gets passed down to future generations, while (D)'s view is of a static, outdated archaic common law "text" that is no longer relevant to the modern day, which is the opposite of Goodrich's view.

Hope this helps!

[LSAT4Life]

Hi,

I understand why (E) is correct, but can you clarify why (A) is incorrect? I think the reason is because a key in Peter Goodrich's perspective is a continual development, which is not captured in (A) but would appreciate more clarification.

[Beatrice Brown]

Hi LSAT4Life! Happy to help with this

Great job identifying why answer choice (A) is incorrect! Let me explain a bit further, as well.

Answer choice (A) tells us that Goodrich believes common law should be studied as a "relic of history." However, Goodrich actually believes that common law should be studied as a "continually developing tradition." These two ideas are contradictory, making answer choice (A) incorrect.

In other words, answer choice (A) directly contradicts Goodrich's view: he believes that it should be studied as a "continually developing tradition," but answer choice (A) explains that it should be studied as a "relic of history." If we study something as a relic of history, we are not studying it as something that continues to develop, but instead, as something that is already fixed/static.

So not only does answer choice (A) not capture this idea of continual development, but it actually contradicts Goodrich's view by saying that we should study common law as a "relic of history."

I hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any other questions!