Self-study
P1
In recent years, a growing belief that the way society decides what to treat as true is controlled through largely unrecognized discursive practices has led legal reformers to examine the complex interconnections between narrative and law. ██ ████ █████ ████████ █████ █████████ ███ █████ ██ █████████ ███████ █████ ███████ ███████ ██████ █████████ █████ ███████ ██████ ███ ██████ ████ ████████ ████ ███████ ██ ████ ███ ██████ ██████ ██ ██████ ███
Context ·
How do we decide what is true or false?
Legal systems use competing narratives about events; judges and juries assign "truth"
Introduce concept ·
Objectivism
The "objective" view is neutral, unbiased, and more reliable than other views
Apply concept ·
of objectivism to legal "truth"
Truth is found in an objective view of events
Criticism ·
No one holds an objective view
Support criticism ·
According to psychologists, everyone holds biases
Author's perspective ·
Legal views are subjective, not objective
P2
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Problem ·
Objectivist assumptions favor those with legal training
Accounts by those who understand the law are (wrongly) seen as objective and true; others accounts are (wrongly) seen as false
P3
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Solution ·
according to some legal scholars
Alternative legal narratives
Explain solution ·
Replace abstract objectivist discourse with personal narratives
Support solution ·
Personal stories elicit empathy
Implications of solution ·
Disruption of status quo, less advantage bestowed by legal training, emphasis on empathy
Passage Style
Critique or debate
Problem-analysis
13.
Which one of the following ████ ██████████ █████████ ███ ████████ ████████ ██████ █████████ ██ █████████ ████████ ███████ ████ █████ ██████████
a
strongly opposed
The author’s attitude toward the proposals is positive, as shown by the last few lines of the passage.
b
somewhat skeptical
The author’s attitude toward the proposals is positive, as shown by the last few lines of the passage.
c
ambivalent
The author’s attitude toward the proposals is positive, as shown by the last few lines of the passage. There’s no hint of having mixed feelings about the proposals.
d
strongly supportive
This is supported by the last few lines of the passage, where the author no longer attributes her claims to the scholars but appears to make statements using her own voice. The author is the one who says
e
unreservedly optimistic
This doesn’t fit, because the author doesn’t assert that the proposals will definitely succeed. Rather, the author says that