Self-study
Passage A.
P1
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Historical scholarship ·
Ideal of objectivity is central
P2
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Facts vs. interpretations ·
Judge interpretations based on how well they account for the facts
According to the objectivity ideal, historians can have different interpretations of an event, but that doesn't mean the events don't have a fixed meaning.
P3
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Analogy to judges ·
Objective historians are like neutral judges; they should not advocate
Historians should be balanced and nonbiased.
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P4
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Historical scholarship ·
Requires self-discipline to be different from propaganda
P5
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Objectivity vs. neutrality ·
Historians can be objective without being neutral
Objectivity is about detaching from values for the purpose of achieving a deeper understanding. But it's OK to have values.
Elaboration ·
Objectivity is embodied in a powerful argument
To make a powerful argument, a historian must be objective in that they anticipate and take into account counter-arguments.
P6
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Elaboration ·
Powerful arguments are objective, but not neutral
They reflect actual historical interpretation and how humans think. Real objectivity can involve taking a side and being an advocate.
Passage Style
23.
Both passages identify which one ██ ███ █████████ ██ █ ███████████ ███ ██████████ █████████
a
the historian's willingness ██ ██████ ███████ ██ ████████ ████ █████ ███████████ ████ ██████████ ████████
Neither passage mentions this. (A) might be trying to tempt us based on Passage A’s comparison to the judiciary in the last paragraph. But Passage A never suggests that historians should borrow anything from judges; it simply noted that certain features of what historians should strive for are similar to what judges strive for.
b
the historian's willingness ██ ██████ █████████████ ███████ ██ ██████████ ██ █████████ █████ ████ ██████████ ████████
Passage A doesn’t mention a willingness to employ methodologies favored by opponents. That’s enough to eliminate this answer.
Passage B also doesn’t mention (B). It does say that historians must try to understand issues from a competing view’s perspective; but there’s a difference between using the methodologies of competing views and understanding those views.
c
the historian's willingness ██ ██████████ ███████ ███████████████ ██ █████ ██ ███ █████████ ██ █████ ████████████ ████ ████
Stated in
d
the historian's willingness ██ ██████ ██ ██████ ███ ████████ ██████████ ████ █████ ██ ████ ███████ ███ ██ ███ ██████████████
Neither passage mentions a willingness to answer “in detail all possible objections.” Passage B does mention that historians should “anticipate and take into account objections” in making an argument. But this isn’t the same as answering all possible objections.
e
the historian's willingness ██ ██████ ██████████ █████████████ ██ █████ ███████████████
Arguably Passage B states (E) as a requirement for historians, since it wants historians to inhabit rival perspectives. But Passage A doesn’t describe consideration of rival interpretations as a requirement for historians.