Self-study
Passage A.
P1
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Intro / Context / Premise ·
Legal system rests on questionable assumption that free will exists
Free will may not exist.
P2
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Premise ·
Free will does not exist at all
There is no unconnected spot in the brain that's independent of all other parts. There's nowhere for free will to hide, so to speak.
P3
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Premise ·
Even if a little free will exists
It's so small that it should not be considered significant.
P4
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Conclusion ·
Blameworthiness should be removed from legal system
Because it falsely assumes free will exists. Legal system should be forward looking, focusing on future behavior of criminals.
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P5
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Question ·
Can the law discard the concept of free will?
P6
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Premise ·
Would be difficult at the level of the individual
Research suggests that individuals cling onto moral judgments and seek to assign blame even if they are primed to believe in determinism (i.e., no free will).
P7
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Premise ·
Would be difficult at the level of society
We've tried in the past to focus only on rehabilitation but there was public backlash and retribution has returned.
P8
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Conclusion ·
Blameworthiness serves a useful function
Even if it's "false," it's useful. Legal system should focus on why people feel the need to blame.
Passage Style
16.
The meaning of the phrase █
Question Type
Meaning in context (of word, phrase, or idea)
Structure
In context, “forward looking” means looking to factors related to how a criminal will behave in the future. This is most closely related to the idea of rehabilitation in Passage B.
a
In context, “forward looking” means looking to factors related to how a criminal will behave in the future. This has no clear relationship to the idea of something being “entrenched.” Being entrenched means that something is deep-rooted, hard to get rid of.
b
In context, “forward looking” means looking to factors related to how a criminal will behave in the future. This has no clear relationship to the idea of something being “rational.” Rationality is about reason and logical thinking.
c
In context, “forward looking” means looking to factors related to how a criminal will behave in the future. This has no clear relationship to the idea of something being “conditioned.” “Conditioned” is about being used to something.
d
In context, “forward looking” means looking to factors related to how a criminal will behave in the future. The idea of “rehabilitation” is closely related — rehabilitation is about trying to change someone’s behavior so that they don’t engage in crimes in the future.
e
In context, “forward looking” means looking to factors related to how a criminal will behave in the future. This has no clear relationship to “backlash.” “Backlash” refers to the idea of getting an undesired effect.