PrepTest 156, Section 2, Question 13
Santayana recommends that we study history to avoid(48 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- APeople should not(14 more words not shown)
- BEvery historical period(7 more words not shown)
- CAlthough the crises(17 more words not shown)
- DStudying history is(9 more words not shown)
- EOne should not(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why shouldn't we learn from the past? Even if no crisis repeats in every detail, we might still recognize useful patterns. A debt crisis today needn't be identical to an earlier one for that earlier crisis to teach us something. The same could be true of patterns leading to war.
That's my objection to the author's reasoning. But we're asked to identify the main conclusion, not to fix or attack it. The author wants us to reject Santayana's advice to study history as a way to avoid past mistakes.
What we’re looking for
Follow the support: historical events are unique, so present crises differ from past crises; therefore, the author says, studying history never helps us avoid past mistakes. That last claim is itself a reason for the larger recommendation: don't follow Santayana's advice. The word 'thus' marks a conclusion, but it doesn't automatically mark the main conclusion. Ask what that conclusion is being used to support.
Working the answers
- A
The author doesn't say studying history makes us misunderstand current crises. The claim is that studying it doesn't help us avoid earlier mistakes. Failing to help is different from actively confusing us. A also broadens the recommendation into not studying history at all, rather than not studying it for Santayana's proposed purpose.
- B
The uniqueness of historical situations is part of the author's support. We can still ask, 'And what does the author want us to do because of that?' The answer is to reject the proposed use of history. B stops before that recommendation.
- C
This captures the idea that current crises don't match those faced by earlier generations. Again, that is a reason for the author's position, not the ultimate position. The author uses the difference between crises to argue against studying history to avoid past mistakes.
- D
The author never concludes that studying history is valuable for some other reason. It might be, but the passage leaves that issue open. D adds a favorable assessment rather than restating the advice the author actually gives.
- ECorrect
Don't try to avoid previous generations' mistakes by studying history. That restates the instruction not to follow Santayana's advice, including the particular purpose for studying history that the author rejects. The claims about unique events and the alleged failure to prevent mistakes are offered in support of this recommendation.
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