Reading Comprehension

PT115 · S1 · P4 · Q21 Theory of the Mind

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Some of the philosophers find the traditional, subjective approach to studying the mind outdated and ineffectual.

Topic

The debate between subjective and objective approaches to studying the mind.

Framework

Present Debate

Main Point

Philosophers clash over whether to study the mind through subjective introspection or objective scientific methods, but genuine progress in the debate will require evaluating the authority and limitations of both perspectives—possibly leading to new ways of understanding the mind. The Most Valuable Sentence is at the end of the final paragraph:

P1: Introduction to Objectivist View

A group of philosophers think the old approach of describing inner feelings (like pain or anger) is outdated; they argue scientific, externally observable data is far more reliable and effective for understanding the mind, just as it is for other sciences.

P2: The Subjectivist Rebuttal

Subjectivist philosophers push back, arguing that knowledge must include subjective experience and introspection, and question why only objective data should "count."

P3: Lack of Common Ground

The passage suggests these two approaches can't easily reconcile, and the main problem is that the sides don't share enough foundational beliefs to make productive dialogue possible.

21.

Which one of the following most accurately summarizes the main point of the passage?

  1. In order to gain new

    Wrong Emphasis: subjectivists

    The main clause of this answer is, subjectivists must take into consideration X Was the author's main point in this passage to scold the subjectivists or challenge their position or correct their misconception? No, it wasn't focused on telling the subjectivists that what they're currently doing is wrong. Instead, it was pretty neutral about which side of the subjectivists or objectivists is "more correct". The author was just sad at their lack of communication and the author's main point is advice about how we move forward so that the two sides can have a useful dialogue.

    2% picked this

  2. In rejecting the traditional, subjective

    Wrong Emphasis

    Wrong Emphasis: objectivists Too Strong: fundamentally incompatible The main clause of this answer is, objectivists have made further progress virtually impossible Was the author's main point in this passage to scold the objectivists or challenge their position or correct their misconception? No, this passage wasn't written to attack objectivists, or to say that progress is impossible. The author was saying that currently genuine communication between the two groups seems virtually impossible.

    1% picked this

  3. Because the subjectivist and objectivist

    Trap

    Bad Solution Match Too Strong: diametrically opposed At first "the only way" seems like it's so strong that it would be a dealbreaker, but the final paragraph, where the author describes her solution, does say "What would be required". But the author is saying the only way to the resolve the dispute is to "investigate the authority of their differing perspectives". Does that mean the same thing as "which one is more successful in obtaining knowledge"? It doesn't seem like it, because the rest of the last paragraph isn't talking about tallying up how much knowledge each perspective has obtained. Instead, it's talking about "investigating the authority" in terms like, - how rational is it to do objectivist thinking for consciousness? - how useful is it to only use subjective thinking for knowledge of the mind? It's also probably too strong to say that these two groups are diametrically opposed about the kinds of evidence to be used. "Philosophers loyal to subjectivity are not persuaded by appeals to science when such appeal conflict with the data gathered by introspection". In other words, subjectivists aren't saying we can't use external, observable data to study the mind, just that there will be times when we should give priority to introspection / subjective experience.

    10% picked this

  4. Correct

    Although subjectivists and objectivists appear

    Why this is right

    The main clause of this answer sounds like the author's Solution, which is the main payoff idea in a Problem / Solution passage. The warmup clause sounds like the Problem. This language for the solution in this answer matches better than in (C), because "examining the authority of the evidence on which their competing theories depend" is a better match for the first line of the last paragraph: "an investigation into the authority of their differing perspectives".

    Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    87% picked this

  5. While the success of disciplines

    Wrong Emphasis: objectivist

    The main clause of this answer is, the objectivist approach has failed to show X Was the author's main point in this passage to scold the objectivists for something they failed to do? No, it's to highlight the problem of these two schools of thought who currently seem to be unable to have meaningful communication with each other, and to propose a potential solution to that problem.

    0% picked this

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