PrepTest 134, Section 3, Question 10
People often admonish us to learn the lessons(73 more words not shown)
That we should learn the(14 more words not shown)
- AIt sets out(11 more words not shown)
- BIt is compatible(9 more words not shown)
- CIt is a(10 more words not shown)
- DIt expresses the(10 more words not shown)
- EIt is an(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why would a lesson be useless just because history won't repeat itself exactly?
We might learn something about a recurring pattern without expecting an identical event. For example, an account of alliances drawing several countries into a conflict could make us think carefully about similar commitments later. The names, countries, and circumstances could change while part of the lesson remained useful.
That is my objection to the author's skepticism. The author first doubts that we can discover history's lessons, then doubts that we could apply them even if we discovered them. The World War I example is meant to make both difficulties seem serious.
What we’re looking for
But this question isn't asking us to repair or attack that reasoning. It asks what role the advice to learn from history plays. That advice is the target. The author brings it up because the rest of the argument is meant to undermine it. We can identify the target even if we find the attack unconvincing.
Working the answers
- A
The author isn't setting out to solve the problem of how to learn from history. The argument questions whether the advice can be usefully followed in the first place. It offers doubts about discovering and applying lessons, not a solution for doing those things.
- B
The argument challenges the advice; it doesn't treat that advice as a neutral claim fitting equally well with either side. Saying that the recommendation is compatible with accepting or rejecting the argument's conclusion misses the opposition the author is developing.
- C
The author does challenge the position, but doesn't simply assume it is false. There are reasons: lessons are nearly impossible to discover, and even discovered lessons may be difficult to apply to a different situation. We may question those reasons, as we did while reading. Weak reasoning is still reasoning, rather than merely taking the position's falsity for granted.
- DCorrect
The argument is directed toward discrediting the advice that we should learn history's lessons. Its concerns about discovering and applying those lessons are meant to make that advice look impractical. This describes the statement's role without requiring us to agree that the criticism succeeds.
- E
An assumption required by the argument would be something the argument relies on. Here, the author is questioning the advice, not relying on its truth to establish the skeptical conclusion. The recommendation belongs on the other side of the disagreement.
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