Although Locke has been hailed as a giant figure in European

Question

Although Locke has been hailed as a giant figure in European intellectual history, his ideas were largely borrowed from his predecessors, now unfairly neglected by historians. Furthermore, Locke never wrote a truly great book; his most widely known works are muddy in style, awkwardly constructed, and often self-contradictory.

With which of the following would the author most likely agree?

a) Locke made use of ideas without acknowledging his predecessors as the sources of those ideas.

b) Current historians are re-evaluating the work of Locke in the light of present-day knowledge.

c) Locke's contributions to the development of European thought have been greatly exaggerated.

d) Historians should reexamine Locke's place in European intellectual history.

e) Although Locke's ideas were important, his way of expressing them in writing was sadly inadequate.

Praetorian · Answer

Locke's ideas were almost never his, so author may not agree with E

C may be out of scope. 

I would say D ...the author is getting at this point in D.

thanks
praetorian

araspai · Answer

Explanation: The author makes two assertions about Locke: that his ideas were not original and that his books were not very good. On the basis of these assertions, the author concludes that Locke's reputation as an intellectual giant is undeserved. Choice (C) accurately summarizes this conclusion. Choice (A) focuses on a subsidiary point, not the main idea; moreover, it makes an assumption unsupported by the passage namely, that Locke did not acknowledge the sources of his ideas. Choice (B) is wrong because although the passage clearly indicates that the author is "re-evaluating" Locke's work, it does not suggest that "current historians" in general are doing so. Similarly, (D) implies that the author recommends that other historians re-examine Locke. Since no recommendation exists in the argument, Choice (C) is the only option.

(D) is tricky because it is a good answer, BUT IT IS NOT THE BEST ANSWER.

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Although Locke has been hailed as a giant figure in European

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