The concept of difference feminism, proposed by psychologist Carol

Question

The concept of difference feminism, proposed by psychologist Carol Gilligan and criticized by many, holds that men and women have genuine differences that need not all be considered equal. What’s most enraging, aptly so, to the critics of Gilligan is the idea proposed by her in her book In a Different Voice that women have their own special version of morality rooted in relationships and caring rather than the supposedly abstract notions of justice and equity.

But however regressive her ideas were, Gilligan’s views garnered popularity and admiration in the writings of many others; lesser-known imitations of her book include Nell Noddings’ Caring, Sara Ruddick’s Maternal Thinking, and Belenky, Clunchy, Golberger and Tarule’s Women’s way of Knowing.In fact Women’s way of Knowing, a book based on the responses gathered from 135 women interviewees, goes so far as to claim that women are not comfortable with argumentation and disagreement and that they have a distinct approach to knowledge, one that underlines collaboration, consensus, and mutual understanding.

The findings of the book have rightly been challenged by critics who point out that the responses elicited from the interviewees were not fully uncontaminated as these women were told the topic of the study in advance. However, irrespective of the authenticity of the findings of studies that confirm the ideas propagated in books such as In a Different Voice and Women’s way of Knowing, the conclusions drawn by the authors of these books are unwarranted. If the idea that women prefer to avoid disagreement and to promote understanding and acceptance over judgment and assessment had been true, there would have been clear and loud demands from women to change the basic nature of education provided to them as clearly the whole point of critical thinking, which forms an integral part of the education system, is to know what to accept and what to reject by assessment and judgment.   1 
 1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. To discuss the various merits and demerits of a particular view on women in general.
B. To evaluate the relevance of a proposed theory in the modern world.
C. To objectively describe a commonality among the works of certain authors.
D. To advocate a line of reasoning that is counter to a proposed old-fashioned idea. 
E. To criticize a line of thought deemed evidence-less.

2 
 2. Which of the following statements can be derived from the passage?

A. Women have a way of acquiring knowledge that is unique to them.
B. In order to obtain unbiased responses, the participants of a study should not have prior awareness of the subject of the study. 
C. Critical thinking is the most central aspect of the education system.
D. Books such as Nodding's Caring are regressive because they are unoriginal in nature. 
E. It has been easy for women to voice their demands and opinions when they have felt the need to do so.

3 
 3. Which of the following is the function of the second paragraph in the passage?

A. To raise a consideration that is in the opposite direction to the information given in the preceding paragraph.
B. To criticize the regressive thinking expressed by Gilligan and her followers.
C. To suggest that regressive ideas about women's individuality become popular despite any merits in them.
D.To mention the influence a particular author's views had on various other writers while using one book as an example.
E. To discuss the writings of various authors inspired by a particular writer's views.

4 
 4. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

A. Many people who criticize Gilligan's concept of difference feminism are more enraged by her take on women's idea of morality than by any idea in Women's Way of Knowing.
B. The findings of Women's Way of Knowing were deliberately contaminated by the writers of the book.
C. The process of evaluating and forming an opinion forms the basis for thinking critically. 
D. Both In a Different Voice and Women's way of Knowing are based on studies that are somewhat contaminated.
E. The 135 women interviewees who contributed to Women's Way of Knowing were aware of how their opinions could be construed as regressive.

Nikhil · Accepted Answer

1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. To discuss the various merits and demerits of a particular view on women in general.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. The author is very critical in his/her take on the views expressed by the various authors discussed in the passage. There is no mention of any merits of such views.

B. To evaluate the relevance of a proposed theory in the modern world.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. There is no mention of a single proposed theory. The author does discuss, however, how the views expressed don't reflect the mindset of the women, but there is no way to determine whether these women are set in the modern world.

C. To objectively describe a commonality among the works of certain authors.

Incorrect : Inconsistent. The author has sided with the critics of the views expressed by different authors/in different books mentioned in the passage. Also the word "described" does not encapsulate the discussion the author holds on these views. Hence, we cannot say that the author has objectively described anything.

D. To advocate a line of reasoning that is counter to a proposed old-fashioned idea.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. Even when the author discusses how the ideas expressed in the two books (mentioned in the third paragraph) are baseless, he/she does not propose any line of reasoning that is opposite to any idea mentioned in the passage. All the author does is question the basis of such views.

E. To criticize a line of thought deemed evidence-less.

Correct . This is indeed consistent with the overall tone and nature of comments made by the author in the entire passage. The author criticizes the views expressed by Gilligan and those expressed in a book considered by the author inspired by Gilligan's views.

2. Which of the following statements can be derived from the passage?

A. Women have a way of acquiring knowledge that is unique to them.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. Although the authors of Women's Way of knowing hold the view expressed in this choice, the author does not. Since this is an inference question, the correct answer has to be a view expressed by the author. If another party's view is to be expressed, it has to be qualified appropriately. Accordingly, had the answer choice been "Some people think that women have a way of acquiring knowledge that is unique to them", it would have been correct.

B. In order to obtain unbiased responses, the participants of a study should not have prior awareness of the subject of the study.

Correct . The author agrees with the critics of Women's way of Knowing who challenge that the findings are not fully uncontaminated, i.e. they are contaminated to some extent since the interviewees were told the topic of the study in advance. Hence, one can infer that the author would agree with the statement given in this choice.

C. Critical thinking is the most central aspect of the education system.

Incorrect : Inconsistent. The author does mention in the last sentence of the passage that critical thinking is an integral part of the education; however, on the basis of the same, we cannot infer that it is the most integral part.

D. Books such as Nodding's Caring are regressive because they are unoriginal in nature.

Incorrect : Inconsistent. Even though the author does imply that these books are regressive, it is not because these books are copies in general; it's because these books are imitations of ideas that the author considers regressive.

E. It has been easy for women to voice their demands and opinions when they have felt the need to do so.

Incorrect : Out of Context. The topic of women voicing their demands is mentioned in the final paragraph; however, the author does not comment on the feasibility of the same.

3. Which of the following is the function of the second paragraph in the passage?

A. To raise a consideration that is in the opposite direction to the information given in the preceding paragraph.

Incorrect : Inconsistent. The author does raise a consideration that even though Gilligan's views were regressive, they were quite popular; however, this consideration is not in the opposite direction to the thoughts/discussion in the preceding paragraph.

B. To criticize the regressive thinking expressed by Gilligan and her followers.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. Although the author’s overall purpose in writing the passage is to do so, in the second paragraph, the author doesn’t criticize the views at all. Hence, it is out of scope for the second paragraph.

C. To suggest that regressive ideas about women's individuality become popular despite any merits in them.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. This is a generalized statement that is not supported by the passage. The passage contents are really specific and do not make an effort to discuss any trend in general.

D.To mention the influence a particular author's views had on various other writers while using one book as an example.

Correct . The author mentions how Gilligan's views inspired a spate of authors and uses the example of Women's way of Knowing to illustrate the same. Hence, this indeed is the correct choice.

E. To discuss the writings of various authors inspired by a particular writer's views.

Incorrect : Inconsistent. Even though this part of the answer choice is correct "inspired by a particular writer's view", the author never discusses (instead mentions) the writings of various authors.

4. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?

A. Many people who criticize Gilligan's concept of difference feminism are more enraged by her take on women's idea of morality than by any idea in Women's Way of Knowing.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. Although the author does mention that what most infuriates the critics of Gilligan is her view that women have their own special version of morality rooted in relationships and caring rather than the supposedly abstract notions of justice and equity, there is no such comparison given for critics' take on the views expressed in the two books.

B. The findings of Women's Way of Knowing were deliberately contaminated by the writers of the book.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. In the final paragraph, the author does agree with the critics that the findings were not contamination-free but nowhere does he/she make the allegation that it was a deliberate effort to do so.

C. The process of evaluating and forming an opinion forms the basis for thinking critically.

Correct . This information is explicitly stated in the final sentence of the passage: ... the whole point of critical thinking...is to know what to accept and what to reject by assessment and judgment.

D. Both In a Different Voice and Women's way of Knowing are based on studies that are somewhat contaminated.

Incorrect : Inconsistent. The author definitely agrees that the findings of Women’s way of Knowing are contaminated but doesn’t hold the same opinion about In a Different Voice. What the author says in the final paragraph is that even if we don’t take the authenticity of the findings in to account, the conclusions drawn by the authors are not justified.

E. The 135 women interviewees who contributed to Women's Way of Knowing were aware of how their opinions could be construed as regressive.

Incorrect : Out of Scope. The only information we get to know about these women is that they knew the topic of the study prior to be interviewed. Nowhere does the author mention that they were aware of how their views were going to be perceived.

MG1105 · Answer

workout  For answer of 1st question, while reading the passage i could not get from the tone of the author that he is criticizing a line of thought. In the passage author keeps referring to the critics whenever any discussion comes up of criticizing anything. Can you please quote some lines from the passage which gives an idea that the author himself is criticizing??

sandman13 · Answer

MG1105 The findings of the book have rightly been challenged by critics who point out that the responses elicited from the interviewees were not fully uncontaminated as these women were told the topic of the study in advance. However, irrespective of the authenticity of the findings of studies that confirm the ideas propagated in books such as In a Different Voice and Women’s way of Knowing, the conclusions drawn by the authors of these books are unwarranted . If the idea that women prefer to avoid disagreement and to promote understanding and acceptance over judgment and assessment had been true, there would have been clear and loud demands from women to change the basic nature of education provided to them as clearly the whole point of critical thinking, which forms an integral part of the education system, is to know what to accept and what to reject by assessment and judgment. the highlighted parts are the author being critical. The italicized part is support for his conclusion in blue. Hope it helps

bestreturn · Answer

For Q1 isn't the last line of the passage a line of reasoning? I do feel that the author's main purpose isn't exactly trying to advocate this specific reasoning, but more like advocating the idea of countering in general which make this answer choice unlikely. However, Choice E is also a little too extreme to deem it evidence-less. The author used the phrase "not fully uncontaminated" which does not mean it is evidence-less, because there was evidence although it was low quality. What is wrong with my thinking?

guddo · Answer

1. The author is primarily concerned with

The passage discusses difference feminism and related works that claim women have a distinct moral or intellectual style based on caring, consensus, collaboration, and discomfort with argument. The author’s main purpose is critical: the author argues that this line of thought is based on weak evidence and that its broader conclusions are unwarranted.  So the passage is mainly criticizing a poorly supported view , not neutrally describing it.

A. To discuss the various merits and demerits of a particular view on women in general.

This is incorrect. The passage is not balanced. It does not seriously discuss the merits of the view; it mainly criticizes it.

B. To evaluate the relevance of a proposed theory in the modern world.

This is too broad. The author is not mainly asking whether the theory is relevant today, but whether its reasoning and conclusions are justified.

C. To objectively describe a commonality among the works of certain authors.

This is incorrect. The passage mentions several related works, but the tone is clearly critical, not objective or merely descriptive.

D. To advocate a line of reasoning that is counter to a proposed old-fashioned idea.

This is close, but not as precise as E. The author does argue against the view, but the passage is mainly a criticism of that view as  unsupported or insufficiently supported , not mainly an advocacy of some separate positive theory.

E. To criticize a line of thought deemed evidence-less.

This is correct. The author criticizes the Gilligan-style line of thought and related works by arguing that their evidence is questionable and that their conclusions are unwarranted even if some findings are accepted.

Answer: (E)

egmat · Answer

Hi bestreturn -  your instinct on D is right, and your read on E is close, so let me show you the one place it slips.

Start with what the whole passage is doing. From  "however regressive her ideas were,"  through the critics who  "rightly"  challenged the study, to the flat verdict that the  "conclusions ... are unwarranted,"  the author does one thing the entire way:  attack  this line of thought. That single, consistent purpose is what a primary-purpose question tests, not any one line.

Why D is out

D fails not because the author advocates "countering in general," but because the author never advocates a counter-position at all. To  advocate  is to build and push a view of your own. Here the author only tears the existing view down - questioning its basis, calling its conclusions unwarranted. The verb is  criticize , not  advocate .

The exact slip on E

You anchored "evidence-less" to "not fully uncontaminated." But that phrase is local - it only says the interview responses in Women's Way of Knowing were tainted because the women knew the topic in advance. The author's real charge comes one sentence later: "irrespective of the authenticity of the findings ... the conclusions drawn by the authors of these books are unwarranted." In other words, even granting the findings, the conclusions still are not supported. That is the author  deeming  the whole line of thought to rest on nothing solid.

Now look at the word  "deemed"  in E. It does not claim, as a fact, that no evidence ever existed. It names how the author  treats  the view - as a line of thought the author judges to be without valid support. So E is not too extreme; it matches the author's own judgment.

Answer: E

The concept of difference feminism, proposed by psychologist Carol

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

The concept of difference feminism, proposed by psychologist Carol

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