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Topic and Scope
- Critiques of the positivist approach to studying internationalMapping the Passage
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Answers and Explanations
1)
A tough question full of tough words. Since a posteriori is in italics, it‘s easy to spot. Go back to ¶2 to review what this is. Immediately after the phrase the passage says that in natural sciences, lab experiments can have ―nomothetic status.‖ What must this mean? Paraphrase: Probably that the findings are assumed to be definitely true. Read on: there‘s a ―however‖ keyword that contrasts international relations with science, saying that ―such law-like generalizations about cause and effect are rarely if ever possible.‖ Therefore, nomothetic status must2)
Read the word in context. The sentence in which the word appears immediately follows the positivists‘ ―moderate rule‖ which says that ―the propensity to error should make us cautious, but not so desperate that we fear to come as close as possible to apodictic findings.‖ Paraphrase, keeping the main positivist idea of a scientific approach in mind: just because we can‘t eliminate error doesn‘t mean that we shouldn‘t try to work scientifically. What does the ―torch‖ that the positivists want to grasp represent, then? Predict: The conclusions that they think they‘ll find. Three choices can be eliminated, leaving you with (B). You know that (B) must be true in any case from the mention of nomothetic propositions in ¶2: they‘re described as absolute scientific findings, exactly the sort of thing that the positivists want.3)
A quick scan of the answer choice shows a variety of professions. Who would be most likely to write a passage about a disagreement over how to study international relations? Predict: someone who studied international relations. (B) immediately recommends itself.Question bank and Collections:
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