#15 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Author’s Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (E).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

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

[tetsuya0129]

Hi Powerscore,

Agreeing with (E) as the best choice, I still find it very difficult to spot in Passage A where is the support for "current." I thought the term basically means present, the time being. Then, how come Laura's viewpoint in 1996 can be said as "current"?

Please let me know and thank you very much,
Leon

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Leon!

I like that close reading! But, ultimately, the year that Laura J. Rosenthal's book was written in is irrelevant. Her approach results in projecting current ideological preoccupations inappropriately onto the past, no matter what year you are applying it in. The "current ideological preoccupations" does not refer to Rosenthal's approach--in other words, it is not Rosenthal's approach that is "current"; rather, "current ideological preoccupations" refers to the idea that, in the view of the author of passage A, the only difference between plagiarism, imitation, adaptation, repetition, and originality is that "those in power use the opprobrious term “plagiarism” when the work in question emanates from those whom they dislike." Any determination of plagiarism would be based on whether the people in power currently like the creator of the work or not.

So basically, if you and I today, in 2021, were trying to use Rosenthal's definitions for plagiarism vs. other similar things to determine if an older work was plagiarism or not, it would require that we impose our current 2021 morals onto a past work.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[ashpine17]

What is the matter with D though?

[ashpine17]

Is D something the author would disagree with but Ricks would agree? Is that why it is wrong? what would the author of passage A think about this view though?

[ashpine17]

I read the italicized portion that comes right before passage A starts and now I'm more convinced that the author of Passage A would agree with the content of answer choice D while the author of Passage B wouldn't because the author of Passage A is literally Ricks isn't it?

[Adam Tyson]

Along with addressing your question, ashpine17, clbrogesr also asked:

Initially, I chose D to this question, since it seemed to me that D reflects a concern that both author's have that a postmodern reduction of plagiarism to merely power relationships erases the moral dimensions of plagiarism and in doing so erases the moral actions of the plagiarists. D felt too strong (I'm not sure the authors believe this approach "ultimately absolves), but it appeared the best of the answer choices. Is that why D is wrong?

Equally important, why is E correct? On the test, I took "current ideological preoccupations" to mean exclusively our moral definition of plagiarism, although I wonder now whether or not that was too restrictive of a definition. I easily see how this applies to passage B, but I don't see where in passage A the author is concerned that we are projecting our current ideological preoccupations onto the past. Is it not about our definition of plagiarism, but our fascination with power? Would the author agree that we are projecting our preoccupation with power onto the past? Thanks!

So I'll try to answer both of you!

I find no support for answer D in passage B. And while author A might feel this way, it may be a little strong for them, too. I just couldn't find enough evidence in either passage that either author would have to agree with this very strong statement. and even if we think there is some support that A feels this way, author B is not at all committed to this position.

E is correct because both authors think that there are at least some current scholars who are looking at plagiarism in the past through a distorted lens of current ideology. B's "shoddy scholarship" comment is good support there. Author A, Christopher Ricks, expresses that, too, when he says "But such rhetorical questioning invariably leads to the required postmodern answer: that there is no difference between these things." The rest of the passage is all about how modern scholars distort the issue by supposedly removing all moral considerations, while Ricks thinks they are actually imposing their own moral considerations : "the book is animated by a political fervor that is clearly moral." So the evidence does support that both authors would say "yes, I agree with that statement," making it the best choice of the bunch.

[Sean Kim]

Hello

I am a bit confused.
Can "some A do B" mean the same as "A has a tendency to B" ?

So can "some shoddy scholarship that projects ~ into historically remote controversies." possible mean
Answer " an inferior kind of historical scholarship ~ has a tendency to ~"?

Thanks!

[katehos]

Hi Sean,

Great question. In terms of perfectly valid logical reasoning, equating "some A do B" with "A has a tendency to B" is a bit of an overstep, but the bar we're looking to meet here is simply "most likely" to agree. These types of questions that ask you to look for Points of Agreement often require you to delve into implicit beliefs of the authors, so you sometimes have to read between the lines (so to speak).

In this case, you read between the lines to understand that both authors believe there are issues with certain kinds of historical scholarship that may inappropriately project onto historic controversies (Passage A lines regarding postmodern answers and Passage B lines regarding shoddy scholarship). These lines indicate that both authors have a distaste for certain current approaches, meaning answer choice (E) is correct!

Hope this helps!
Kate

[Sean Kim]

Hi Sean,

Great question. In terms of perfectly valid logical reasoning, equating "some A do B" with "A has a tendency to B" is a bit of an overstep, but the bar we're looking to meet here is simply "most likely" to agree. These types of questions that ask you to look for Points of Agreement often require you to delve into implicit beliefs of the authors, so you sometimes have to read between the lines (so to speak).

In this case, you read between the lines to understand that both authors believe there are issues with certain kinds of historical scholarship that may inappropriately project onto historic controversies (Passage A lines regarding postmodern answers and Passage B lines regarding shoddy scholarship). These lines indicate that both authors have a distaste for certain current approaches, meaning answer choice (E) is correct!

Hope this helps!
Kate

I understand,
Thank you Kate