Logical Reasoning

PT15 · S3 · Q5 The frequently expressed view that

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The frequently expressed view that written constitutions are inherently more liberal than unwritten ones is false.

Conclusion

Even a written constitution becomes a liberal constitution only when it is interpreted and applied in a liberal way.

Evidence

A written constitution is just paper with words on it until those words are both interpreted and applied. Properly understood, a constitution is the sum of those procedures through which state power is legitimately exercised and limited.

Evaluate

The conclusion makes liberal interpretation and application a necessary condition for a written constitution to count as liberal. So a constitution's text alone — without interpretation and application — cannot make the constitution liberal.

Goal

Identify the answer that follows directly from the necessity claim — namely, that text alone cannot establish whether a constitution is liberal.

5.

If the statements in the argument are all true, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of them?

  1. A careful analysis of the

    Unsupported

    The stimulus says liberal interpretation and application are necessary for a written constitution to be liberal. That means you cannot show it is liberal by text alone. But it does not follow that you can show it is not liberal by text alone — text alone might be liberal-friendly even where the application is not, or vice versa. The argument supports a "cannot prove liberal," not a "can prove illiberal."

    11% picked this

  2. Correct

    It is impossible to determine

    Why this is right

    This follows directly from the conclusion. The author says a written constitution becomes liberal only when it is interpreted and applied in a liberal way. Liberal interpretation and application is therefore necessary. So if you only have the text — without interpretation and application — you cannot determine that the constitution is liberal. That is exactly what this answer says.

    Skill tested: Must be True · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    60% picked this

  3. There are no advantages to

    Unsupported

    The stimulus says nothing about whether written constitutions have advantages over unwritten ones. The author rejects only the specific claim that written ones are inherently more liberal. There could be plenty of other advantages — clarity, durability, ease of reference — and the stimulus does not address them. This is far too strong.

    2% picked this

  4. Constitutions that are not written

    Unsupported

    The author rejects the view that written constitutions are inherently more liberal than unwritten ones. That does not flip the comparison the other way. Saying neither type is automatically more liberal is not the same as saying unwritten ones are more likely to be liberal. The stimulus is silent on which type tends to be more liberal in practice.

    2% picked this

  5. A constitution is a liberal

    Too Strong

    The stimulus says a constitution becomes liberal only when it is interpreted and applied in a liberal way — not when it is merely possible to interpret it that way. Many constitutions could in principle be read liberally but in fact are not. This answer waters the necessary condition down from actual interpretation to mere possibility.

    26% picked this

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