It is their sensitive response to human circumstance that accounts for

Question

It is their sensitive response to human circumstance that accounts for the persistence of certain universal ideas. Rabbi Meir, a second-century scholar, admonished his disciples to look not at the pitcher but at its contents because, he stated, "Many anew pitcher has been found to be full of old wine. “This was his way of emphasizing the importance of the distinction between form and idea and of stressing that the integrity of an idea is more important than the form of its expression. Creative ideas not only produce their own instruments of survival as time and circumstances demand, but permit the substitution of new forms for old under the pressure of changed circumstances. For example democracy, as an idea originated in ancient Greece and was carried from there to Western Europe and the Americas. But it did not retain the ancient Greek form: it passed through several reforming processes and exists today in many countries. Democratic governments differ in form because democracy is in principle dynamic and has therefore responded to local needs.
   1 
 1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. illustrating the teachings of a historical figure
B. discussing an important characteristic of human ideas
C. describing the history of the growth of democracy
D. contrasting ancient and modern views of the importance of creative ideas
E. explaining the difference between form and idea

2 
 2. According to the passage, democracy is an example of

A. a human circumstance that has molded creative ideas
B. an instrument of survival that has altered its original form
C. an attribute of a creative idea that has allowed that idea to persist
D. a creative idea that has persisted because of its adaptability
E. a reforming process that has culminated in the creation of modern governments

3 
 3. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would agree with all of the following statements EXCEPT:

A. Changing circumstances sometimes give rise to original ideas.
B. Creative ideas may have universal applications.
C. Changing human needs influence universal ideas.
D. Democracy is an old idea but exists widely in new forms
E. An idea must be expressed in a traditional way.

arora1 · Accepted Answer

Creative ideas not only produce their own instruments of survival as time and circumstances demand, but permit the substitution of new forms for old under the pressure of changed circumstances. For example democracy, as an idea

2. According to the passage, democracy is an example of 
A. a human circumstance that has molded creative ideas
B. an instrument of survival that has altered its original form
C. an attribute of a creative idea that has allowed that idea to persist
D. a creative idea that has persisted because of its adaptability
E. a reforming process that has culminated in the creation of modern governments

My take is D, though the OA is B. As per my understanding of the passage, creative ideas produce instruments of survival... It is also stated that democracy as an  idea , thus i eliminated B. B says democracy is an example of an instrument of survival... D looks a much better option

jaisonsunny77 · Answer

1. The author is primarily concerned with

The passage deals with discussing salient features of ''human ideas''. the following keywords are used in the passage: Integrity, creative, dynamic. (all of these keywords are related to the central idea of the passage: human ideas). (B) captures this thought perfectly.

(B). discussing an important characteristic of human ideas

Hence,   (B) is the right answer choice .  
 
 2. According to the passage, democracy is an example of

Towards the middle of the passage, we have "Creative ideas not only produce their own instruments of survival as time and circumstances demand, but permit the substitution of new forms for old under the pressure of changed circumstances. For example democracy.." Hence, democracy is an example of an instrument of survival that has changed from it's original form based on need. This idea is perfectly captured in (B)

B. an instrument of survival that has altered its original form

Hence,   (B) is the right answer choice. 
 
  3. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would agree with all of the following statements EXCEPT:  
 
A. Changing circumstances sometimes give rise to original ideas.  -  mentioned in the first line of the passage.  
 B. Creative ideas may have universal applications . -  also mentioned in the first line of the passage.  
 C. Changing human needs influence universal ideas . -  mentioned in the passage; democracy is cited as an example.  
 D. Democracy is an old idea but exists widely in new forms  -  Cited in the passage. 
 E. An idea must be expressed in a traditional way. - not mentioned anywhere in the passage. Hence, (E) is the right answer to this EXCEPT question.

harshitasinghal · Answer

In ques 1, why is E incorrect? And preferred over B?

In ques 2, why is A incorrect?

guddo · Answer

1. The author is primarily concerned with

The passage is mainly about one central idea:  important ideas survive by changing their form while keeping their core substance . Rabbi Meir and democracy are both used only as examples to support that broader point.

(A) illustrating the teachings of a historical figure

This is not the main purpose. Rabbi Meir is mentioned only briefly as an example, not as the central subject of the passage.

(B) discussing an important characteristic of human ideas

This is the best answer. The author is explaining that ideas can persist over time because they adapt their form to changing circumstances while keeping their essential content.

(C) describing the history of the growth of democracy

This is too narrow. Democracy is only one example used to illustrate the author’s broader point about ideas in general.

(D) contrasting ancient and modern views of the importance of creative ideas

The passage does not compare ancient and modern views. It talks about how ideas change form over time, not about a contrast in viewpoints across periods.

(E) explaining the difference between form and idea

This is discussed, but it is still too limited. The passage goes beyond that distinction and focuses more broadly on why universal ideas persist.

Answer: (B)

egmat · Answer

Hi harshitasinghal,

Great questions — let me address both.

Question 1: Why is E wrong and B correct?

Choice E says the author is primarily concerned with 'explaining the difference between form and idea.' Yes, the passage mentions this distinction through Rabbi Meir's teaching:  'the integrity of an idea is more important than the form of its expression.'  But that's only  ONE  part of the passage — it's a supporting point introduced early on. After making that distinction, the author goes much further. The passage's real focus is on how creative ideas persist over time by adapting their forms to changing circumstances. The democracy example takes up nearly half the passage and illustrates this persistence characteristic.

Choice B — 'discussing an important characteristic of human ideas' — captures the  FULL  scope. That 'important characteristic' is the ability of universal ideas to survive by generating new forms as circumstances change. The form-vs-idea distinction is merely a stepping stone to this larger point.   Note that  for Primary Purpose questions, the correct answer must account for ALL parts of the passage, not just one section.   E is too narrow ; B covers the whole passage.

Question 2: Why is A wrong?

Choice A says democracy is 'a human circumstance that has molded creative ideas.'  This reverses the relationship the passage describes.  Look at the passage carefully:  'It is their sensitive response to human circumstance that accounts for the persistence of certain universal ideas.'  Here, 'human circumstances' are the external conditions that ideas respond TO — things like local needs, changing times, different cultures. Democracy is  NOT  one of those external circumstances.

Instead, democracy is presented as a product of creative ideas — specifically, an instrument of survival that has changed form. The passage says:  'Creative ideas not only produce their own instruments of survival... but permit the substitution of new forms for old.'  Democracy is the example that follows: it 'originated in ancient Greece,' 'did not retain the ancient Greek form,' and 'passed through several reforming processes.'  Democracy is the thing that adapted — it's the instrument that changed its form in response to circumstances, not the circumstance itself.  That's why B ('an instrument of survival that has altered its original form') is correct.

Answer: B

Tucky · Answer

Dear Expert,
Wanted to understand, for Q2, why (D) isn't the correct AC:

Creative ideas not only produce their own instruments of survival as time and circumstances demand, but permit the substitution of new forms for old under the pressure of changed circumstances. For example democracy, as an idea

2. According to the passage, democracy is an example of
A. a human circumstance that has molded creative ideas
B. an instrument of survival that has altered its original form
C. an attribute of a creative idea that has allowed that idea to persist
D. a creative idea that has persisted because of its adaptability
E. a reforming process that has culminated in the creation of modern governments

My take is D, though the OA is B. As per my understanding of the passage, creative ideas produce instruments of survival... It is also stated that democracy as an idea, thus i eliminated B. B says democracy is an example of an instrument of survival... D looks a much better option

Creative ideas survive as circumstances demand

Democracy has been presented as an example: democracy also survived by responding to local needs

Hence (D) seems appropriate.

It is their sensitive response to human circumstance that accounts for

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It is their sensitive response to human circumstance that accounts for

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