#20 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (C).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[swong1267]

Is this a MBT?

I picked the correct answer, but it was more of a guess -- can you elaborate more on the differences in attitude?

[nicholaspavic]

You are correct that this is a MBT - Global Reference question and congrats on getting the right answer.

Depending upon how much experience you have with RC passages, you may have noticed that Passage A is more impassioned and more extreme in it's outlook in that that there may be no "freely chosen immoral acts" (line18-19). Even the beginning of the passage, which begins with the way neurosciences perceives us as "nothing more" than our brain suggests that Uncle at Christmas who has had a couple of sherries and now wishes to inform you of the truth of things. In short Passage A uses more forceful language, less passive voice and possesses a less diplomatic approach to the subject.

On the other hand, Passage B reminds me of an academic discussing a coupe of finer points. He consider Hume and Ayer, and seems to ultimately prefer Ayer's way of thinking. The author's tone is measured. He avoids the extreme language that Passage A revels in. In short, Passage B's author is more detached.

In ruling out the other answer options, (A) does not really work because it would seem that Passage A is the author who is engaged. I don't think that that Passage B is dismissive of the brain and free will either. That would definitely be an overstatement. (D) and (E) are way off the mark as Passage B offers us little in the way of irony or skepticism.

Thanks for the great question and I hope this helps!

[snowy]

I answered B for this one, but C was my other contender.

B felt especially supported by the diction and tone of the first paragraph of B, which read as very dismissive of these "new mechanical descriptions." That general dismissiveness seemed to continue throughout, though less strongly. This contrasted with Passage A's acceptance of the same idea.

C/detached, meanwhile, felt as though it had less support. Passage A felt more engaged than Passage B, but I don't think the lesser degree of engagement necessarily made Passage B detached. Passage B does still take pretty strong stances and supports its position with evidence etc., which doesn't equate to detachment to me.

Could you explain where I'm going wrong here? I was also confused as to what the question stem was actually referring to by "the ideas it discusses," in terms of whether that meant the common ideas between the two or just generally the respective ideas/tones.

Thanks a ton!!

[Brook Miscoski]

Snowy,

Passage (B) wasn't dismissive.

"Dismissive" means an attitude that an idea is stupid or simply not worth your time.

"Detached" only means "neutral."

Because the author of passage (B) does not express an opinion about whether Ayer is correct, the author of passage (B) is neutral.

On the other hand, the author of passage (A) argues for a position.

Thus, the author of passage (B) is more neutral--more detached--than the author of passage (A).

To pick a choice like (B), you would need some clear proof that the author of the passage not only thought something was incorrect but also thought it was such a bad idea it was barely worth discussing. "Dismissive" is an extremely insulting attitude, and it is unlikely to describe an LSAT author's attitude.

[snowy]

Thank you, Brook! The point that the author doesn’t say they agree with Ayer definitely helped me understand this more fully.

Would you mind also clarifying what the question stem was actually referring to by "the ideas it discusses," in terms of whether that meant the common ideas between the two or just generally the respective ideas/tones?

[Brook Miscoski]

snowy,

That's actually crappy wording by the LSAT test writer. The way I read it is:

"Compare the attitude of author B towards passage B subject to the attitude of author A towards passage A subject."

This is based on extending the construct of the question:

"Passage B differs from Passage A in that Passage B displays an attitude towards the ideas it [Passage B] discusses that is more __________ than the attitude Passage A displays towards the idea it [Passage A] discusses.

It does so happen that, these being related passages, the subject matter is very similar. It is sufficient to simply ask yourself what the tone of Passage B is.

[cd1010]

Why is E incorrect? Under time pressure, I crossed out C pretty quickly. In hindsight, I probably thought it was too soft for what was going on. I interpreted Passage A to be an author who is discussing ideas of neuroscientists, largely accedes to it, and then discusses their implications to law. Passage B on the other hand is presenting a viewpoint (the determinist's viewpoint) and then arguing against it by presenting an alternative framework (Ayer, and to a less extent, Hume). I interpreted Passage B to be more of a critical inquiry of a viewpoint, so I picked AC E ("skepticism").

For this particular question, I'm having trouble delineating the line between tone and argument, especially since the question stem said "attitude toward the ideas it discusses".

[Luke Haqq]

Hi cd1010!

To address your second issue first, this question is definitely asking for the tone more than the argument, though it seems important to understand what the passage is arguing in order to assess its "attitude toward the ideas it discusses."

Passage B isn't quite skeptical toward the ideas it expresses. The passage introduces the notion of "soft determinism," and it argues that at least some actions can be free (as long as they are not constrained). The author of the passage doesn't seem to be skeptical toward soft determinism or the idea that some actions can be free but rather seems to see those ideas as plausible.