PrepTest 133, Section 4, Question 23
Passage A Central to the historian's profession and(481 more words not shown)
Passage A(193 more words not shown)
Passage B(296 more words not shown)
Both passages identify which one(9 more words not shown)
- Athe historian's willingness(11 more words not shown)
- Bthe historian's willingness(12 more words not shown)
- Cthe historian's willingness(14 more words not shown)
- Dthe historian's willingness(16 more words not shown)
- Ethe historian's willingness(7 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Both accounts require intellectual discipline. Whatever their disagreement about political commitment, historians still have to answer to facts. We'll look for a particular requirement supported in both; something that B discusses at length may still lack support in A.
Working the answers
- A
Neither account requires borrowing analytical methods from other disciplines. A's comparison with judges concerns impartiality, not importing another field's research methods.
- B
Understanding a rival's argument isn't the same as using the rival's methodology. That requirement isn't stated in both accounts.
- CCorrect
A says an interpretation contradicted by facts “should be abandoned.” B's opening likewise requires historians to reject even appealing accounts when basic evidence or reasoning undermines them (Passage B, paragraph 1). The language differs, but the requirement is the same: liking an interpretation isn't a reason to keep it when the evidence defeats it.
- D
B asks historians to consider genuine objections. It doesn't require detailed answers to every possible objection, and A doesn't establish that exhaustive requirement either.
- E
B explicitly requires respectful engagement with rival interpretations. A emphasizes neutrality and fidelity to facts without identifying this same practice as a requirement. Being evenhanded is compatible with it, but compatibility alone doesn't show that both specify it.
More Detail questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Detail questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.