It might seem that about Blaise Pascal, and about the two works on

Question

New Project RC Butler 2019  -  Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday   
Passage # 190, Date : 06-Jul-2019
 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 .  Click here for Details

It might seem that about Blaise Pascal, and about the two works on which his fame is founded, everything that there is to say had been said. The details of his life are as fully known as we can expect to know them; his mathematical and physical discoveries have been treated many times; his religious sentiment and his theological views have been discussed again and again; and his prose style has been analyzed by French critics down to the finest particular.

But Pascal is one of those writers who will be and who must be studied afresh by men in every generation. It is not he who changes, but we who change. It is not our knowledge of him that increases, but our world that alters and our attitudes towards the world. The history of human opinions of Pascal and of men of his stature is a part of the history of humanity. This fact indicates his permanent importance. So far as is known, the worldly life enjoyed by Pascal can hardly be qualified as “dissipation,” and certainly not as “debauchery.” Even gambling may have appealed to him chiefly as affording a study of mathematical probabilities. He appears to have led such a life as any cultivated intellectual man of good position and independent means might lead and consider himself a model of probity and virtue.   1 
 Question 1. The author considers it essential for Blaise Pascal to be studied by every generation because:

(A) Pascal has been unfairly presented over time. 
(B) Pascal’s lifestyle was extravagant as fitting an intellectual man of independent means. 
(C) It is crucial for every generation to be aware of his religious sentiments and mathematical discoveries. 
(D) The world around every generation changes and allows that generation to view Pascal in a new light. 
(E) The history of humanity considers Pascal an integral part of it.

2 
 Question 2. The author would agree with each of the following EXCEPT:

(A) Pascal’s prose style has been a point of much debate with the French. 
(B) Gambling was probably Pascal’s way to study mathematical probabilities. 
(C) Pascal, due to his aberrations, was considered unwelcome in certain circles. 
(D) Pascal is rediscovered by men of every succeeding generation due to changing attitudes of the people. 
(E) Pascal led a life befitting a man of means and virtue.

3 
 Question 3. Which of the following is true of Pascal from the information given in the passage?

(A) His main body of work primarily comprised two works. 
(B) He was not fond of gambling. 
(C) He had interests beyond just Mathematics and Physics.
(D) He was liberal in his religious views. 
(E) He had a unique style of writing.

generis · Accepted Answer

@@Skywalker18 :
 Question 2. The author would agree with each of the following EXCEPT:

The answer is C
(A) has decent textual support although the verbs are a bit off.
Option (C)? It's out of left field. Aberrations? That led to social exclusion? No.

• (A)  Pascal’s prose style has been a point of much debate with the French.
Ouch, that sentence is horribly written. WITH? How about "among"?

ACCEPTABLE as an answer:  his prose style has been analyzed by French critics down to the finest particular. 
Compared to (C), which has no textual support, the italicized words lend textual support.
To examine something carefully does not mean to debate it, but "down to the finest particulars"
suggests that the analysis required hair-splitting distinctions because people did not agree during the analysis (so they debated).

• (B)  Gambling was probably Pascal’s way to study mathematical probabilities. - incorrect, Even gambling may have appealed to him chiefly as affording a study of mathematical probabilities.

• (C)  Pascal, due to his aberrations, was considered unwelcome in certain circles.
Not one word mentions aberrations or social exclusion. 
The passage hints that some believed (or still believe) that Pascal led a decadent life. 
"Debauchery" is a loaded and condemnatory word. But we hear nothing about "aberrations" or "social exclusion."
  Answer C is correct.   The author wouldn't agree.

• (D)  Pascal is rediscovered by men of every succeeding generation due to changing attitudes of the people. - incorrect, It is not he who changes, but we who change. It is not our knowledge of him that increases, but our world that alters and our attitudes towards the world.

• (E)  Pascal led a life befitting a man of means and virtue.- incorrect, He appears to have led such a life as any cultivated intellectual man of good position and independent means might lead and consider himself a model of probity and virtue.

No,  analyze  is not the same as  debate,  but that difference is okay because (C) is horrible.

"Analyze" means examine and scrutinize. "Debate" means discuss or argue about.
But "down to the finest particulars" suggests that analysis turned into debate.
(If C weren't so bad, we would have a much harder time.

Analysis of B, D, and E is good.

My conclusion: compare A to C. No contest. 
(A) is not ideal, but it is not as bad as C. 
***************
 Question 3. Which of the following is true of Pascal from the information given in the passage?

(A) His main body of work primarily comprised two works.   
It might seem . . .   and about the two works on which his fame is founded,

(B)  He was not fond of gambling. - incorrect; Even gambling may have appealed to him chiefly as affording a study of mathematical probabilities.
Agreed.   ]Even gambling may have appealed to him.

(C) He had interests beyond just Mathematics and Physics.  
YES.   his religious sentiment and his theological views have been discussed again and again

(D)  He was liberal in his religious views. - incorrect
Agreed. We don't know what his religious views were. (To all: do not import  Pascal's wager  if you know about it.

(E)  He had a unique style of writing.- incorrect, we are not sure whether his writing was unique
Agreed. We know only that  his prose style has been analyzed by French critics down to the finest particular.

Compare (A) and (C).

(A) His main body of work primarily comprised two works.  
Supported by second phrase of the paragraph, highlighted above.

(C) He had interests beyond just Mathematics and Physics.  
 his mathematical and physical discoveries have been treated many times; his religious sentiment and his theological views have been discussed again and again;  
Hmm. If scholars have studied his religious sentiment and his theological views, what, exactly, were they studying? 
A couple of sentences that he dashed off one day in a fit of boredom? (No.)
Have the scholars studied something in which Pascal was NOT interested? 
Why was he spouting about and/or writing down his religious sentiment and theological views? Because he was NOT interested in the subjects?

We have no reason to believe that an  interest  means "a scientific or mathematical field into which a human being delves until he makes a 'discovery' in the field."
The two phrases in the highlighted material beneath (C) are of equal weight. 
-- one mentions math and physics
-- the other mentions religious sentiment and theological views

"Interest" is never defined. So we take our general understanding of the word and look at context.

I want the author of this question to make the case that religion and theology were NOT interests of Pascal.
  Answer C is as good as answer A.

I could not eliminate options A and C.I chose option C as we are told that he expressed his theological views and wrote prose.
  
You shouldn't have been able to choose. There is no basis upon which to do so.   I would ignore this question.

Hope that helps.

Sidebar
Pascal wrote one of my favorite lines in any language:
  Le coeur a ses raisons que le raison ne connaît point. 
The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.

kris19 · Answer

Question 1. The author considers it essential for Blaise Pascal to be studied by every generation because: 
Explanation: In the second para, it is mentioned that 'This fact indicates his permanent importance' and it comes after 'who will be and who must be studied afresh by men in every generation'. It means every new study gets a new perspective.

(A) Pascal has been unfairly presented over time.
Incorrect: Not discussed about fairly or unfairly treatment of Pascal

(B) Pascal’s lifestyle was extravagant as fitting an intellectual man of independent means.
Incorrect: It is not for Pascal's extravagant lifestyle the author mentioned about study by every generation
 
(C) It is crucial for every generation to be aware of his religious sentiments and mathematical discoveries.
Incorrect: Partial answer. Every generation should study about Pascal because of his contributions in many fields (mathematics, science, religious, and prose)

(D) The world around every generation changes and allows that generation to view Pascal in a new light. 
Correct: 'It is not he who changes, but we who change' and because of his permanent importance, every generation sees Pascal in a new perspective.
 
(E) The history of humanity considers Pascal an integral part of it.
Incorrect: It is mentioned that history of opinions is a part of history of humanity. Not Pascal is an integral part of history.

Question 2. The author would agree with each of the following EXCEPT:

(A) Pascal’s prose style has been a point of much debate with the French - agree (his prose style has been analyzed by French). 
(B) Gambling was probably Pascal’s way to study mathematical probabilities - agree (Even gambling may have appealed to him). 
(C) Pascal, due to his aberrations, was considered unwelcome in certain circles - not agree (Not mentioned in the passage). 
(D) Pascal is rediscovered by men of every succeeding generation due to changing attitudes of the people - agree (must be studied afresh by men in every generation) 
(E) Pascal led a life befitting a man of means and virtue - agree (probity and virtue)

Question 3. Which of the following is true of Pascal from the information given in the passage?

(A) His main body of work primarily comprised two works - Pascal became famous for his two works, so we can think that his work  primarily  consist of these two works - Correct
(B) He was not fond of gambling - we can't say anything about this - Incorrect. 
(C) He had interests beyond just Mathematics and Physics - Pascal had his views about religion and theology -  views  are different from  Interests  - Incorrect.
(D) He was liberal in his religious views - not mentioned about it - Incorrect. 
(E) He had a unique style of writing - not mentioned about it - Incorrect

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hi

A very easy question indeed. Option C is straight out of the race as question demands what  must be true  after reading the passage. We can not find Option C in the passage not even indirectly. So read the paragraph carefully you will come to know that C cannot be validated from data given in the passage.

Hope it helps

Skywalker18 · Answer

Question 1. The author considers it essential for Blaise Pascal to be studied by every generation because:
(D) The world around every generation changes and allows that generation to view Pascal in a new light. - Correct
But Pascal is one of those writers who will be and who must be studied afresh by men in every generation. It is not he who changes, but we who change. It is not our knowledge of him that increases, but our world that alters and our attitudes towards the world.

Question 2. The author would agree with each of the following EXCEPT:

(A) Pascal’s prose style has been a point of much debate with the French. 
(B) Gambling was probably Pascal’s way to study mathematical probabilities. - incorrect, Even gambling may have appealed to him chiefly as affording a study of mathematical probabilities.
(C) Pascal, due to his aberrations, was considered unwelcome in certain circles. 
(D) Pascal is rediscovered by men of every succeeding generation due to changing attitudes of the people. - incorrect, It is not he who changes, but we who change. It is not our knowledge of him that increases, but our world that alters and our attitudes towards the world.
(E) Pascal led a life befitting a man of means and virtue.- incorrect, He appears to have led such a life as any cultivated intellectual man of good position and independent means might lead and consider himself a model of probity and virtue.

I eliminated other options and was left with option A and C.
his prose style has been analyzed by French critics down to the finest particular. --->  is analysis same as a debate?

Question 3. Which of the following is true of Pascal from the information given in the passage?

(A) His main body of work primarily comprised two works. 
(B) He was not fond of gambling. - incorrect; Even gambling may have appealed to him chiefly as affording a study of mathematical probabilities.
(C) He had interests beyond just Mathematics and Physics.
(D) He was liberal in his religious views. - incorrect
(E) He had a unique style of writing.- incorrect, we are not sure whether his writing was unique

I could not eliminate options A and C.I chose option C as we are told that he expressed his theological views and wrote prose.
 
 AjiteshArun  ,  GMATNinja  ,  MagooshExpert  ,  GMATGuruNY  ,  VeritasPrepBrian  ,  MartyTargetTestPrep  ,  DmitryFarber  ,  VeritasKarishma  ,  generis  ,  jennpt  , other experts - please enlighten

TheNightKing · Answer

Thank you generis!

Same happened with me. Exact same reasoning. And I did not pick A as OA because the passage says "It might seem" that means he was not defined by his 2 major works. Anyway, As you said let's not put too much focus on this question.

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

Both A & C are correct

It might seem that about Blaise Pascal, and about the two works on

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It might seem that about Blaise Pascal, and about the two works on

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