New Project RC Butler 2019 - Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday Passage # 84, Date : 14-MAR-2019 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 . Click here for Details To understand John Rawls's theory of justice, one first needs to grasp what he was reacting against. The dominant approach in pre-Rawls political philosophy was utilitarianism, which emphasized maximizing the fulfillment of people's preferences. At first sight, utilitarianism seems plausible- what else should we do but try to achieve the most satisfaction possible for the greatest number of people? -but the theory has some odd consequences. Suppose executing an innocent person will appease a mob, and that doing so will therefore increase total satisfaction. Incredibly, a utilitarian would have to endorse the execution. Rawls accordingly complains that, in the utilitarian view, there is no reason "why the violation of the liberty of a few might not be made right by the greater good shared by many." If we reject utilitarianism and its view about the aim of the good life, how can we know what justice requires? Rawls offers an ingenious answer. He asserts that even if people do not agree on the aim of the good life, they can accept a fair procedure for settling what the principles of justice should be. This is key to Rawls's theory: Whatever arises from a fair procedure is just. But what is a fair procedure? Rawls again has a clever approach, beginning with his famous veil of ignorance. Suppose five children have to divide a cake among themselves. One child cuts the cake but does not know who will get which shares. The child is likely to divide the cake into equal shares to avoid the possibility of receiving the smallest share, an arrangement that the others will also admit to be fair. By denying the child information that would bias the result, a fair outcome can be achieved. Rawls generalizes the point of this example of the veil of ignorance. His thought experiment features a situation, which he calls the original position, in which people are self-interested but do not know their own station in life, abilities, tastes, or even gender. Under the limits of this ignorance, individuals motivated by self-interest endeavor to arrive at a solution in which they will not lose, because nobody loses. The result will be a just arrangement. Rawls thinks that people, regardless of their plan of life, want certain "primary goods." These include rights and liberties, powers and opportunities, and income and wealth. Without these primary goods, people cannot accomplish their goals, whatever they may be. Hence, any individual in the original position will agree that everyone should get at least a minimum amount of these primary goods. Unfortunately, this is an inherently redistributionist idea, since the primary goods are not natural properties of human beings. If someone lacks a primary good, it must be provided, at the expense of others if necessary. 1 B 1) The author's primary purpose in the passage is to (A) show why a once-dominant theory was abandoned (B) describe the novel way in which a theory addresses a problem (C) sketch the historical development of a celebrated theory (D) debate the pros and cons of a complex theory (E) argue for the truth of a controversial theory. 2 A 2) According to the passage, Rawls uses which one of the following devices to explain his theory? (A) a thought experiment (B) a process of elimination (C) an empirical study of social institutions (D) a deduction from a few basic principles (E) a consideration of the meaning of words 3 A 3) With which one of the following statements would both Rawls and the author of the passage be most likely to agree? (A) There are situations in which it is permissible to treat the fulfillment of one person's preferences as more important than the fulfillment of the majority's preferences. (B) Unless individuals set aside their own self-interest, they cannot make fair judgments about the distribution of goods. (C) If an individual lacks a good, society must sometimes provide that good, even if this means taking it from others. (D) Most people agree about which of the primary goods is the most valuable. (E) It is fair to sacrifice the individual's interests if doing so will maximize the satisfaction of the majority. 4 E 4) The author's stance toward Rawls's theory is most accurately described as one of (A) scholarly neutrality with respect both to its objectives and its development (B) disdain for its pretensions camouflaged by declarations of respect for its author (C) sympathy with its recommendations tempered with skepticism about its cogency (D) enthusiasm for its aims mingled with doubts about its practicality (E) admiration for its ingenuity coupled with misgivings about some of its implications 5 D 5. The purpose of the question in lines 6-8 ( Highlighted ) is to (A) point out an implausible feature of utilitarianism (B) characterize utilitarianism as internally contradictory (C) establish that utilitarianism must be true (D) suggest the intuitive appeal of utilitarianism (E) inquire into ways of supplementing utilitarianism 6 C 6. Which one of the following would, if true, most call into question the claim in lines 49-51 ( Highlighted ) of the passage? (A) Most people value the fulfillment of their own preferences over the fulfillment of the preferences of strangers. (B) It is impossible in practice for people to be ignorant of their stations in life, abilities, and tastes. (C) Some people would be willing to risk a complete loss of one primary good for the chance of obtaining an enormous amount of another primary good. (D) Few people believe that they would be satisfied with only a minimum amount of primary goods. (E) People tend to overestimate the resources available for distribution and to underestimate their own needs. Source: LSAT Official PrepTest 80 ( Dec-2016 ) Difficulty Level: 700

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To understand John Rawls's theory of justice, one first needs to grasp

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ThatIndianGuy

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12 Sep 2023, 23:01

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Please post explanation for Q6

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12 Sep 2023, 23:58

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akanshaxo why is the answer to 6th question (C)?

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13 Sep 2023, 11:54

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ThatIndianGuy

Please post explanation for Q6

dibz101

akanshaxo why is the answer to 6th question (C)?

This question is discussed many times:

Here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/to-understan ... l#p2260603

Here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/to-understan ... l#p2243237

also here https://gmatclub.com/forum/to-understan ... l#p2264335

Finally here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/to-understan ... l#p2484960

Click on the links and wait until they redirect you to the exact post.

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In question 6, how C is the answer? I did not understood what the question was asking!

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In question 6, how C is the answer? I did not understood what the question was asking!

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Hello Experts,

IN Q6, can someone please explain why option E is incorrect? If people tend to overestimate the resources available for distribution, it might be the case that they are overestimating the minimum requirement of Primary Goods. And in the same Question, for Option C - My understanding is that even though some people are willing to risk it all for another primary good, it still doesn't weaken that people require minium goods.

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09 Jan 2024, 07:57

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Kartikeya40

Let's make that highlighted sentence super concrete. Let's imagine that a fellow named Tim is in the "original position." That means Tim is self-interested, and he doesn't know anything about his station in life.

The highlighted sentence is saying Tim should believe that everyone deserves to get a minimum amount of primary goods. Let's say the only good in the world is apples. And there are five people in the world. Tim believes that there are 20 apples and 20 oranges in the world and each person deserves to get at least one apple and at least one orange.

We're looking for an answer that says, "actually, maybe Tim doesn't think everyone deserves at least one apple!"

Start with (E):

Quote:

People tend to overestimate the resources available for distribution and to underestimate their own needs.

If this is true, does it mean that Tim no longer believes everyone deserves an apple? Not necessarily. If Tim overestimated the apple supply, that might there are actually 15 apples, not 20. And maybe Tim thought he needed one apple, but he actually needs two.

His fundamental belief that everyone deserves a minimum number of apples and oranges hasn't changed. He's maybe just changed what the minimum value is. But everyone is still getting apples and oranges in this scenario. So (E) doesn't really do the job.

But now look at (C):

Quote:

Some people would be willing to risk a complete loss of one primary good for the chance of obtaining an enormous amount of another primary good.

Well, if this is true, then some people might be willing to forgo apples altogether to get loads of oranges. If someone would be happy with 0 apples in order to get, say, 19 oranges, Tim's in big big trouble!

Suddenly, the framework of everyone needing at least a certain number of apples and oranges no longer works, because there's someone who doesn't want apples at all. And by sacrificing apples, this person may also be dominating the market in oranges, thus depriving others of their daily allotment of citrus. (Hasn't this person heard of scurvy?)

All to say, if (C) is true, it has the potential to mess up the framework of everyone needing a minimum amount of apples and oranges, because someone might not need any apples, so (C) is our answer.

I hope that clears things up!

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14 Jan 2024, 13:28

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Can someone explain Q5 as well.
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Need an explanation for Q5 please. I'm really confused why the answer is D and not E

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Please explain Q5 and Q6 by POE @marty @GMATNinja @karishma

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