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13 Apr 2026, 19:00
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Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
70% (01:52) correct
30%
(02:07)
wrong
based on 189
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French philosopher Albert Camus was a pacificist, holding the opinion that a country that asserts its power through military dominance is fundamentally illiberal. Some biographers have suggested that Camus’s aversion to military activity was a result of the poverty his family experienced in Algeria following his father’s death fighting in the first world war.
Which of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the biographers’ claim?
A. Camus’s personal correspondence with family members reveals his belief that the poverty he and his family experienced was largely due to their background as unskilled agricultural laborers.
B. Intellectuals of the post-war period characterized the first world war as a wasteful military conflict, fought for unjust reasons.
C. Although the losses sustained in the first world war were blamed at the time for poverty in French colonies, such as Algeria, historians now acknowledge it to be a result of more complex reasons.
D. Although Camus characterized contemporary French policies as having a net positive impact on Europe, France was a major military power.
E. Camus once mentioned in an essay that, although his youth was marked by severe poverty, it was not different from the experience of his friends and neighbors in Algeria.
Which of the following, if true, would cast the most serious doubt on the biographers’ claim?
A. Camus’s personal correspondence with family members reveals his belief that the poverty he and his family experienced was largely due to their background as unskilled agricultural laborers.
B. Intellectuals of the post-war period characterized the first world war as a wasteful military conflict, fought for unjust reasons.
C. Although the losses sustained in the first world war were blamed at the time for poverty in French colonies, such as Algeria, historians now acknowledge it to be a result of more complex reasons.
D. Although Camus characterized contemporary French policies as having a net positive impact on Europe, France was a major military power.
E. Camus once mentioned in an essay that, although his youth was marked by severe poverty, it was not different from the experience of his friends and neighbors in Algeria.
13 Apr 2026, 22:37
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albert camus was pacificist and said that any country that asserts its power through military is illiberal.
some biographer says- alberts aversion to military was result of poverty his family suffered after his father died in first WW
need to weaken biographers claim. so we need to show that his aversion was not because of any poverty experienced by his family following the death of his father after WW.
A. Camus’s personal correspondence with family members reveals his belief that the poverty he and his family experienced was largely due to their background as unskilled agricultural laborers.
if their poverty was reason of their not having skills in as agriculture laborers then the claim holds no value. may be camus has some other reason for power and illiberal. so hold this for now.
B. Intellectuals of the post-war period characterized the first world war as a wasteful military conflict, fought for unjust reasons.
this has no impact though. out.
C. Although the losses sustained in the first world war were blamed at the time for poverty in French colonies, such as Algeria, historians now acknowledge it to be a result of more complex reasons.
this actually goes in other direction though. initially they thought of poverty but then changed to something else. not enough to attack the claim. reject.
D. Although Camus characterized contemporary French policies as having a net positive impact on Europe, France was a major military power.
this is irrelevant. not concerned about his views on policies and despite french being military power doesnt make them illiberal as long as they dont use for power. reject.
E. Camus once mentioned in an essay that, although his youth was marked by severe poverty, it was not different from the experience of his friends and neighbors in Algeria.
so that means the poverty was somewhat common factor and it actually give them reason to believe in the notion though. so reject
some biographer says- alberts aversion to military was result of poverty his family suffered after his father died in first WW
need to weaken biographers claim. so we need to show that his aversion was not because of any poverty experienced by his family following the death of his father after WW.
A. Camus’s personal correspondence with family members reveals his belief that the poverty he and his family experienced was largely due to their background as unskilled agricultural laborers.
if their poverty was reason of their not having skills in as agriculture laborers then the claim holds no value. may be camus has some other reason for power and illiberal. so hold this for now.
B. Intellectuals of the post-war period characterized the first world war as a wasteful military conflict, fought for unjust reasons.
this has no impact though. out.
C. Although the losses sustained in the first world war were blamed at the time for poverty in French colonies, such as Algeria, historians now acknowledge it to be a result of more complex reasons.
this actually goes in other direction though. initially they thought of poverty but then changed to something else. not enough to attack the claim. reject.
D. Although Camus characterized contemporary French policies as having a net positive impact on Europe, France was a major military power.
this is irrelevant. not concerned about his views on policies and despite french being military power doesnt make them illiberal as long as they dont use for power. reject.
E. Camus once mentioned in an essay that, although his youth was marked by severe poverty, it was not different from the experience of his friends and neighbors in Algeria.
so that means the poverty was somewhat common factor and it actually give them reason to believe in the notion though. so reject
ExpertsGlobal5
13 Apr 2026, 23:09
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This is a causal chain: Father's death in WWI → Family poverty → Camus's pacifism
To weaken this, we need to break a link in that chain.
The best answer is A.
Option A states that Camus himself believed his family's poverty was largely due to their background as unskilled agricultural laborers, not his father's death in the war.
why others are wrong:
To weaken this, we need to break a link in that chain.
The best answer is A.
Option A states that Camus himself believed his family's poverty was largely due to their background as unskilled agricultural laborers, not his father's death in the war.
why others are wrong:
- B. The intellectual climate characterizing WWI as wasteful could actually support Camus's pacifism but doesn't address whether his personal family poverty drove it.
- C. This challenges the general link between WWI and colonial poverty, but it's about broad historical trends, not Camus's specific family situation or his reasoning.
- D. This is somewhat tangential — it shows a tension in Camus's views but doesn't address the biographical claim about the origin of his pacifism.
- E. This says his poverty was common in Algeria, but shared poverty doesn't undermine the claim that his own family's poverty (caused by his father's death) shaped his views. Many could suffer poverty for different reasons.
