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
27.
The argument described in passage █ ███ ███ ████████ ████ ██ ███ ██████ ██ ███████ █ ███ ████ ████████ ██
a
citing historical scholarship ████ █████ ██ ███████ ███████████
To do (A), each passage would need to refer to specific pieces of scholarship that aren’t objective. But neither passage does this. We don’t get any examples of research, publications, or theories that aren’t objective.
b
showing how certain ██████ ████████████ ██ ██████████ ███████████ ████ ██████████ ███ ███████████ ██ ███ ██████████
Neither passage suggested that the credibility of historians has recently been undermined. We can’t point to any lines in either passage that match with (B).
c
summarizing opposing arguments ██ █████ ██ █████ ███ █████ █████
(C) is another answer that fails to accurately describe either passage. Although Passage A mentions one claim that relativist historians make, it doesn’t summarize any argument in support of that claim or point out the flaws in the relativist historians’ arguments.
Passage B also fails to summarize any opposing arguments. We might say that Passage B is written to counter the view that objectivity requires neutrality. However, that still doesn’t mean that Passage B summarizes any argument in favor of the view that objectivity requires neutrality. Also, don’t confuse Passage B’s description of a powerful argument with what (C) describes. Passage B argues that historians should try to understand and anticipate opposing arguments in their own scholarship; but that doesn’t mean Passage B itself summarizs any opposing arguments.
d
suggesting that historians ██████ █████ █████████ ████ ██ █████████████ ██ ███████ █████ ██████
(D) arguably fits Passage A, because the author suggests that historians should adopt the quality of neutrality, which is a standard that judges try to meet.
But does Passage B suggest that historians should adopt standards used by other professionals? No. Although Passage B references newscasters in the last paragraph, it doesn’t argue that historians should adopt the standards of newscasters. Rather, it argues that historians should not be like newscasters in how they attempt to be neutral concerning different views.
e
identifying what are ████ ██ █████████ ██ █████████ ███████████
(E) accurately describes something that each passage does. In the last paragraph of Passage A, the author says that historians must insulate themselves from political considerations, partisanship, and bias. He also says that historians must “purge themselves of external loyalties.” These can be characterized as obstacles that can make achieving objectivity difficult.
Passage B also identifies obstacles to objectivity in its first paragraph. Objectivity requires avoidance of wishful thinking, the ability to assimilate bad news, and the ability to discard desirable interpretations that go against the evidence.