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V02-13, V02-14, V02-15, V02-16

1 2 3

NickBrady

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13 Aug 2018, 16:59

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I think this is a poor-quality question and the explanation isn't clear enough, please elaborate.

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26 Aug 2018, 10:26

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I didn't understand the explanation to Q1. I don't understand in which part of the passage is the author trying to refute the misconception. can somebody please elaborate
chetan2u , workout

Bacarin

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13 Aug 2019, 20:20

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I think this is a poor question too.

Even if the author considered the view that Descartes was mainly a philosopher a misconception, he is not refuting this view in the second paragraph, he is further supporting this view by providing specific examples of Decartes’ contributions in science.

So even if we accept it as a misconception the answer would be something like:

The author presents a misconception and then supports his view

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17 Oct 2019, 13:22

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Bunuel

Rene Descartes, a 16th century Frenchman often regarded as one of the founders of modern philosophy, penned one of its most famous slogans: “I think, therefore I am.” This statement was the conclusion to an approach of systematic doubt, the goal of which was to arrive at a new foundation for knowledge. He might have been able to doubt all the evidence of his senses, Descartes reasoned, but he could not doubt the proposition that he himself existed to do the doubting. His statement might almost be rephrased as: “I doubt, therefore I am.” Yet despite the fact that philosophers since the early 19th century have made heavy use of this conclusion, Descartes in his own day was most influential as a scientist, not a philosopher.

Throughout 16th century Europe, for example, Descartes was well known for his work in physics, geometry, and physiology, and modern scholars still consider him one of the precursors of the scientific revolution. His attempts to use algebra to solve problems of space and motion essentially created the field of analytic geometry, upon which modern applied mathematics is still largely based. Descartes discovered the law of refraction, which explains why straight objects appear bent when immersed partly in water, and was one of the first to theorize that the workings of human bodies can be studied in similar fashion to the workings of machines. Even his “Discourse on Method,” which contained the famous philosophical statement, was intended merely as the framework within which a collection of essays on optics, meteorology, and geometry was to be understood.

1. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(a) The career of a well-known historical figure is traced chronologically
(b) Two opposing perspectives on a well-known historical figure are presented
(c) Two fields of study are compared and contrasted
(d) A common misconception in introduced, then put in wider context
(e) A common misconception is introduced, then refuted

Show Spoiler

2. Information from the passage suggests that the author would most likely regard which of the following statements as INCORRECT?

(a) Descartes’ contributions to the field of mathematics have largely been superseded.
(b) Descartes’ work has greatly influenced philosophers since the early 19th century.
(c) Descartes was not as famous for his quote as for his scientific works when he lived.
(d) Descartes took a rational approach to the search for a new foundation of knowledge.
(e) Descartes intended his scientific work and his philosophical work to be closely interrelated.

Show Spoiler

3. Which of the following most accurately states the purpose of the passage?

(a) To inform readers about the context in which Descartes’ famous statement was written
(b) To review Descartes’ contributions to modern scientific fields
(c) To offer an explanation for why Descartes’ philosophical works are more popular than his scientific ones
(d) To argue that Descartes should be considered more a scientist than a philosopher
(e) To explain the relationship of analytic geometry to metaphysics

Show Spoiler

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Descartes came to be known as a philosopher rather than a scientist for which of the following reasons?

(a) Because doubt is a very common problem for the modern individual
(b) Because more of his philosophical than scientific writings have been preserved
(c) Because of his popularity with philosophers since the early19th century
(d) Because he himself considered philosophy to be more important than science
(e) Because optics is no longer a significant scientific field

Show Spoiler

Hello sayantanc2k and other experts,
I have a question. E is written as - 'A misconception is introduced and then it is refuted'
Refuted = disapproved. SO E is basically stating that after the introduction of the misconception, the misconception itself is refuted! But that's not the case. The misconception still holds for the author. He's not refuting the misconception, he is refuting the fact that D guy was considered a philosopher more than a scientist.
What am I missing here?

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23 Apr 2020, 12:39

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I think the creators of the answers have got a totally wrong understanding of the underlying tone. The first paragraph states that he is considered a philosopher and a famous statement of his is discussed. In the second paragraph an alternate view is presented in light of new information(that he was a scientist too). Even in the last sentence of the passage " Even his “Discourse on Method,” which contained the famous philosophical statement, was intended merely as the framework within which a collection of essays on optics, meteorology, and geometry was to be understood." states that he created frameworks of under philosophical genre and restates our believe that he was at least a philosopher too. The bold part states his belief in the philosophical aspect while writing the essays--and the fact that author mentions it establishes our belief in him being a philosopher.

I think answers to question 1 and 3 are debatable. Request the creators to re-access their answers.

RenanBragion

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22 Jun 2020, 05:00

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I think this is a high-quality question and I agree with explanation.

RenanBragion

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22 Jun 2020, 05:01

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I think this is a high-quality question and I agree with explanation.

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04 Dec 2020, 20:58

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Q1, I chose E instead of D. Presenting my analysis below:

The reason why I thought D was wrong was because it says "a common misconception was introduced" -> agree with this. The first paragraph introduces the misconception which is that Descrates was actually a scientist. The next half says "then refuted", which is the second paragraph somehow proves that the misconception is wrong? Which did not make sense to me. The second paragraph only goes on to emphasise on Descrates' scientific work and hence puts the misconsception in wider context, i.e, explains the real objective of the work that had the quote.

Can you please help me in understanding where I am going wrong?

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03 Apr 2021, 03:28

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QQ on Question 3

3. Which of the following most accurately states the purpose of the passage?

(a) To inform readers about the context in which Descartes’ famous statement was written
(b) To review Descartes’ contributions to modern scientific fields
(c) To offer an explanation for why Descartes’ philosophical works are more popular than his scientific ones
(d) To argue that Descartes should be considered more a scientist than a philosopher
(e) To explain the relationship of analytic geometry to metaphysics\

opt D. this is wrong on so many levels.

A> there's no "argument" in the passage about how Descartes was a better Scientist than he was a philosopher. At best, this statement can be " To argue that Descartes COULD be considered an equally proficient scientist as he's considered as a philosopher". the word "Should" is too extreme.

b> the fact that a person wears two hats, so to speak, doesn't matter he's good at one thing and bad at the other. D suggest that Descartes was more valued/proficient/ note-worthy when he's considered as a scientist, rendering his role as a philosopher as a moonlighting "gig".

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08 Apr 2021, 10:14

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I think this is a poor-quality question with more poor quality explanation.

mosal101

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13 Sep 2021, 08:19

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Hi, for the 4th question - "It can be inferred from the passage that Descartes came to be known as a philosopher rather than a scientist for which of the following reasons?", how can we infer anything regarding Descartes 'popularity'?
There is no mention of popularity or anything on similar lines in the passage.

Kindly advice if I am missing something here?

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15 Sep 2022, 06:20

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I think this is a poor-quality question and I don't agree with the explanation.

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25 Dec 2023, 07:35

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I think this is a high-quality question and the explanation isn't clear enough, please elaborate. Explanation says "see these lines" then abruptly ends, which lines?

Nairobisha

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17 Sep 2024, 03:59

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I think this is a poor-quality question and the explanation isn't clear enough, please elaborate.

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17 Sep 2024, 20:16

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Thank you. I have updated explanations for a number of questions as they were poorly formatted. Please let me know if there is a specific one.

Nairobisha

I think this is a poor-quality question and the explanation isn't clear enough, please elaborate.

repellenduseaque

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I don’t quite agree with the solution. I agree with gmatinsead2018.
The options need a change as suggested

hr1212

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24 Oct 2025, 12:37

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I agree this is not one of the direct ones, and I also had a hard time having to give it multiple reads. For the first question,

"Rene Descartes, a 16th century Frenchman often regarded as one of the founders of modern philosophy" -> Author here describes about a person who is being regarded as the founder of modern philosophy because of some his statements becoming popular later. Then,

1. "Yet despite the fact that philosophers since the early 19th century have made heavy use of this conclusion, Descartes in his own day was most influential as a scientist, not a philosopher."

2. "Even his “Discourse on Method,” which contained the famous philosophical statement, was intended merely as the framework within which a collection of essays on optics, meteorology, and geometry was to be understood."

These two statements then tries to undermine the initial belief by mentioning that he was only a scientist, where the byproduct of his work became an inspiration for philosophers.

I think refute might come out as a bit too strong, because there could certainly be overlap of him being both a scientist and a philosopher as that idea is not completely rejected in the passage, like "was most influential as a scientist" still keeps the scope open for both. To make it more solid, either the passage can eliminate the chance of him being an active philosopher by saying "he was a scientist, not a philosopher" or we can soften the option choice with word like "qualified" or "followed by reasoning to limit its validity" instead of refuted.

bb - What are your thoughts on this?

repellenduseaque

I don’t quite agree with the solution. I agree with gmatinsead2018.
The options need a change as suggested

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31 Oct 2025, 02:24

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This is a great question that’s helpful for learning and I don’t quite agree with the solution. Although I really liked D as my answer, I strongly was never pulled towards the tone that the author argues that Descartes should be considered more a scientist, because the reason why the author brings up the second paragraph is to support the whole "Descartes in his own day was most influential as a scientist, not a philosopher."
I might be wrong, and maybe just need to understand if I am missing the tone, and what is the right line to draw between inference vs assumption in such questions.

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31 Oct 2025, 20:21

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Sorry about the wait hr1212 - it took me a while to wrap my mind around this one.
I have made a change to D) and also tweaked the explanation. Can you check please?

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02 Nov 2025, 14:32

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Yes, this is much better and I like it over the previous version as it seems factually correct.

Sorry about the wait hr1212 - it took me a while to wrap my mind around this one.
I have made a change to D) and also tweaked the explanation. Can you check please?