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- Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:53 pm
#36041
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14395)
The correct answer choice is (B)
Author Disagreement questions are similar to Point at Issue questions, which are a variation of
Must Be True/Author’s Perspective questions. While you can use the Agree/Disagree Test on
those questions you feel you cannot solve in any other manner, a strong prephrase based on your
understanding of the respective tones in each passage will always be an optimal way to approach
them.
Based on the discussion of Passage Differences above, we can create a general prephrase to
answer this question: the two authors disagree over the meaning of historical objectivity, and share
conflicting views on whether historians should be insulated from political considerations.
Answer choice (A): While the author of passage A would agree that detachment helps historians
achieve an objective view of past events, the author of passage B would not necessarily disagree with
that view. Indeed, passage B exhibits a more nuanced attitude towards the concept of detachment
than does passage A: “the objective thinker does not value detachment as an end in itself but only as
an indispensable means of achieving deeper understanding” (lines 35-38).
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice, as prephrased above. The author of passage
A rejects the view that an objective historical account can ever include a strong political commitment
(lines 20-22), while the author of passage B accepts that objectivity is perfectly compatible with
strong political commitment (lines 34-35).
Answer choice (C): This belief is not presented or alluded to in either passage.
Answer choice (D): Both authors are certain to reject the view that propaganda is an essential tool of
historical scholarship (lines 16-18 and 27-32).
Answer choice (E): While the author of passage A clearly believes that historians of different eras
have arrived at differing interpretations of the same historical events (lines 11-15), there is no reason
to expect that the author of passage B would disagree with that view.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14395)
The correct answer choice is (B)
Author Disagreement questions are similar to Point at Issue questions, which are a variation of
Must Be True/Author’s Perspective questions. While you can use the Agree/Disagree Test on
those questions you feel you cannot solve in any other manner, a strong prephrase based on your
understanding of the respective tones in each passage will always be an optimal way to approach
them.
Based on the discussion of Passage Differences above, we can create a general prephrase to
answer this question: the two authors disagree over the meaning of historical objectivity, and share
conflicting views on whether historians should be insulated from political considerations.
Answer choice (A): While the author of passage A would agree that detachment helps historians
achieve an objective view of past events, the author of passage B would not necessarily disagree with
that view. Indeed, passage B exhibits a more nuanced attitude towards the concept of detachment
than does passage A: “the objective thinker does not value detachment as an end in itself but only as
an indispensable means of achieving deeper understanding” (lines 35-38).
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice, as prephrased above. The author of passage
A rejects the view that an objective historical account can ever include a strong political commitment
(lines 20-22), while the author of passage B accepts that objectivity is perfectly compatible with
strong political commitment (lines 34-35).
Answer choice (C): This belief is not presented or alluded to in either passage.
Answer choice (D): Both authors are certain to reject the view that propaganda is an essential tool of
historical scholarship (lines 16-18 and 27-32).
Answer choice (E): While the author of passage A clearly believes that historians of different eras
have arrived at differing interpretations of the same historical events (lines 11-15), there is no reason
to expect that the author of passage B would disagree with that view.