PrepTest 115, Section 1, Question 21

What we’re looking for

Working the answers

• A

  This tells subjectivists to add scientific evidence to their approach. The writer hasn't settled on that solution. The ending asks both camps to examine what justifies their methods.

• B

  The lack of common ground is a problem, but the writer doesn't blame objectivists alone or conclude that progress is virtually impossible. The final paragraph offers a possible way forward.

• C

  Comparing the approaches' success isn't the proposed solution. If the camps disagree about what counts as knowledge, they could also disagree about which results count as successes. The writer asks them to investigate the authority of their sources of evidence, rather than simply compare their track records.

• D
  Correct

  This is a little more hopeful than our initial prediction: examining the evidence's authority may give the camps common ground. The final paragraph calls for examining what justifies each side’s way of knowing (paragraph 5). D captures both the apparent deadlock and that possible response, without promising that the dispute will be settled.

• E

  This favors the subjectivists' objection to excluding introspection. The main point isn't a verdict against objectivism; it's a proposal to examine the foundations of both approaches.