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Bunuel
Which of the following best completes the passage below?

Over the years, supporters of slavery have put forward several view-points to rationalize their belief. One such argument states that some people are meant to be slaves as part of the natural order of the universe, or as part of God’s plan, and it is wrong to interfere with this by abolishing slavery. However, such an argument is flawed, because it fails to take into account the fact that __________________.

(A) slavery is a cruel practice that does not find much favor with most people in the world

(B) just because something is part of God’s plan does not mean it is the morally correct thing to do

(C) slavery is considered illegal in almost all the countries of the world

(D) there exist no certain criteria to distinguish between natural slaves and those who should not be enslaved

(E) just because something is meant to be does not mean that it has to be


Bunuel could you please provide the official answer solution for the question.
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Dereno

There is a group of supporters of Slavery : who put forth the view that as per gods plan and will, some people are meant to be slaved. So, it’s wrong to act contradictory to gods plan by abolishing slavery.

The flaw in the above mentioned argument is that it has failed to take into account : “ so we need to provide evidences such that, even though gods plan is to continue slavery, discontinuing it would be fair and just or counter it mentioning abolishing it is now a part of gods will”.

Let’s look into the options individually :


(A) slavery is a cruel practice that does not find much favor with most people in the world

This statement in isolation seems catchy and valid. But, we need to counter the argument by taking cues from the question stem. Hence, it’s not valid.

(B) just because something is part of God’s plan does not mean it is the morally correct thing to do

This perfectly resonates with the crux and theme of the argument put into play. And hence a valid answer.

(C) slavery is considered illegal in almost all the countries of the world

This is an out of scope option. Moreover, we are not sure whether slavery is considered illegal or its forms being considered legal or not. Hence, eliminating it.

(D) there exist no certain criteria to distinguish between natural slaves and those who should not be enslaved.

The question doesn’t speak about the difference between natural slaves and ppl who are being enslaved. Hence, eliminating it.

(E) just because something is meant to be does not mean that it has to be.

This is a more generalised way of saying things, in a more philosophical way - Which cannot fit aptly to the context. Hence, eliminating it.

Option B
Now understanding where I really blundered. While option B speaks about the morality of the act. Which might seem a valid argument at first instance. But, the main crux is not about which is morally right or morally wrong. Hence, has to be ignored.

On the other hand option D - "There exist no certain criteria to distinguish between natural slaves and those who should not be enslaved."

Question mentions slavery is an act of god which is predestined or occurs naturally. So, the text “ natural slaves “ mentions the people who are destined to be slaves. If there has been an existing criteria - which bifurcates natural slaves and others. Then the question argument remains valid , and cannot be said as flaw.

The flaw is no such criteria exists to distinguish between natural slaves and those who should not be enslaved.
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Bunuel
Which of the following best completes the passage below?

Over the years, supporters of slavery have put forward several view-points to rationalize their belief. One such argument states that some people are meant to be slaves as part of the natural order of the universe, or as part of God’s plan, and it is wrong to interfere with this by abolishing slavery. However, such an argument is flawed, because it fails to take into account the fact that __________________.

(A) slavery is a cruel practice that does not find much favor with most people in the world

(B) just because something is part of God’s plan does not mean it is the morally correct thing to do

(C) slavery is considered illegal in almost all the countries of the world

(D) there exist no certain criteria to distinguish between natural slaves and those who should not be enslaved

(E) just because something is meant to be does not mean that it has to be



Official Explanation



Answer: D

The sentence leading to the blank states that the argument is flawed so the blank basically has to highlight a flaw in the argument. Remember that the flaw is always linked to the assumption. Those who suggest that some men are meant to be slaves are obviously assuming that there is some way in which one can identify who these men are. The argument cannot be that just because somebody is a slave, he was meant to be a slave. It has to be the other way round, that is, somebody is a slave because he was meant to be a slave. Since there is no criteria for distinguishing between the two, the argument does not hold weight. D states this and is the correct answer.

(A) This could be a negative aspect of slavery in general, but is definitely not a flaw with the argument.

(B) Again, this may make sense logically, but isn’t necessarily a flaw with the argument.

(C) Same as A and B.

(D) The correct answer.

(E) Again, logical but not a flaw.
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