#7 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Please post your questions below! Thank you!

[horns2]

Is B incorrect because it says "critical" distinction? I am struggling to lock in on C, even though I know it is correct. My brain can't get past why B could not also be correct

[Adam Tyson]

The reason answer B is incorrect here, horns2, is that the distinction is NOT a central topic of Passage B. That author seems unconcerned with drawing such a distinction, and in fact blurs the lines by suggesting that the false memory, though mistaken, is arguably more "true" than an accurate memory. Author B seems to almost equate mistakes and lies, rather than distinguishing them from each other.

[marshallmg]

I got the correct answer to this question but I had a hard time eliminating E. I found that both passages discussed ethics. In Passage A I saw this as the authors discussion on mistakes and lies. Can someone clarify why E is wrong?

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi marshallmg,

You are right that both of the passages discuss ethics. However, answer choice (e) states that it's ethics in regards to describing real past events. Passage B discusses ethics in autobiographical events. That's describing past events. However, Passage A is about historical fiction. The ethics there are about real individuals, but not necessarily about real events. Autobiography necessarily is about real past events. Historical fiction is, however, fiction, and may not really use any real past events. It may use the past as a backdrop for action. It may incorporate historical figures. But, unlike autobiography, it does not have to include any past events.

Hope that helps!
Rachael

[beeryslurs]

Hi marshallmg,

You are right that both of the passages discuss ethics. However, answer choice (e) states that it's ethics in regards to describing real past events. Passage B discusses ethics in autobiographical events. That's describing past events. However, Passage A is about historical fiction. The ethics there are about real individuals, but not necessarily about real events. Autobiography necessarily is about real past events. Historical fiction is, however, fiction, and may not really use any real past events. It may use the past as a backdrop for action. It may incorporate historical figures. But, unlike autobiography, it does not have to include any past events.

Hope that helps!
Rachael

But the correct answer C also says that each passage's central topic is the essential role of falsehood in a literary genre that "depicts real past events." Doesn't this also make C wrong?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi beeryslurs!

The key issue between answer choices (C) and (E) is that we are being asked to identify the "central topic" of each passage. The ethical problems posed by the use of fabrication may be touched upon by each author, but the central topic of each passage is more about how such fabrication is necessary or essential. Think of this as a kind of main point question--there may be more than one answer choice that is true of the passages, but we are looking for the answer choice that describes the main idea of the passages. The main takeaway--the main argument of the author in each passage--is that some fabrication is necessary in the respective literary genres they are discussing. Thus, answer choice (C) is correct.

Furthermore, I think an argument could be made that passage A does not really discuss the ethics of fabrication in literary genres. The author makes a distinction between telling lies and making mistakes, but while the author says that making mistakes is "often unforgivable," the author does not explicitly say that making mistakes is unethical. In the final paragraph of passage A, the author states that "some lies go to far and alienate the reader" but, again, this is not necessarily about the ethics of lying so much as it is about strategies for engaging your readers.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[flexbubbleboi]

Regarding choice C, one problem I had with it that made me choose E was that it said "the essential role of falsehood." In Passage B, the author says "lying is all but inescapable," which means that it is sometimes escapable, and therefore not essential. The author also says it's "arguably more misleading" to omit falsehoods, which means it could be okay to include them.

I was stuck on this one (I chose E) because I wasn't sure whether Passage A could be construed as making an ethical case. I could see interpreting Passage A's claims as implicitly touching on ethics, and I could see interpreting them as having nothing to do with ethics. But I saw no way of taking Passage B to be saying that the role of falsehood is "essential," for the reasons I mention in my first paragraph.

[Ryan Twomey]

Hey Flexbubbleboi,

So the question is asking us to describe the central topic of both passages. I see you highlighted the text: "lying is all but inescapable." But then you said that this text means that lying is sometimes inescapable. That is not how I would have interpreted that text. I would have interpreted it as saying lying is essentially inescapable.

But more importantly, you are putting answer choice C under a microscope that you are not putting E under. Remember, the test is asking us which answer choice is the best out of the five answer choices, not which answer is the perfect answer. Answer choice C is maybe not perfect, but it is better than answer choice E because Passage A does not bring up the ethical problems of fabrication, making answer choice E incorrect. It is important to apply the same standard of proof to each of the five answer choices, and in this case answer choice C best describes the central topic of the two passages out of the five answer choices we are given.

I hope this explanation makes sense, and I wish you all of the luck in your studies.

Best,
Ryan

[LSAT1996]

Can someone explain why D is incorrect? Is it because in Passage A, there is still a possibility of representing the past accurately, but the author insists that the readers wouldn't be able to find the speech readable? A bit confused here. Thanks!