LSAT PrepTest 158 - Section 1 - Passage 3 - Question 17

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Passage A is adapted from an essay by historian Christopher Ricks; passage B is from the introduction, by historian Paulina Kewes, to a book in which Ricks's essay appears.

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Rosenthal's Purpose · To question definition of plagiarism

Rosenthal's answer · The required postmodern answer

Postmodern answer = there's no difference between plagiarism and things that people don't think are plagiarism. It's just about power; if people in power don't like certain copying, it's plagiarism.

Rosenthal's assumption · Plagiarism doesn't involve a moral issue; it's about power

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Ricks' perspective · Political history should involve moral considerations

Although there's no universal moral standard, that doesn't mean moral standards shouldn't exist. (Not sure what "political history" means, but clearly Rosenthal's book is an example of it.)

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Intro topic · Plagiarism

Accusations of plagiarism in history have been very fluid, and are influenced by commercial, artistic, and legal views. Sometimes the same act has been called plagiarism and not plagiarism.

Ricks' perspective · Critical of historical approach to ethical issues

He thinks it leads to moral relativism, which he thinks is bad.

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Author's criticism · Ricks paints with too broad a brush

Some historical approaches might be good, even if others are bad.

Concession · Ricks is right to criticize some scholarship

Not all moral standards are just about power, and it can be wrong to project modern-day ideologies onto past events. Ricks is right to make these points.

Author's perspective · Ricks is too extreme

Some historical scholarship can still be good, even if there's a lot of bad scholarship out there. Recognizing different historical understandings of plagiarism doesn't imply any agreement with one or more of those understandings.

Passage Style

17.

By using the phrase "political ███████ ██████ ████████ ██ ███ ██████ █████████ ██ ███████ ███ ███ ██████ ██ ███████ █ ████████ ████ █████████ ████████

Question Type

Purpose in context (of word, phrase, or idea)

Structure

For this question, we only need to consider passage A. This Meaning in Context question asks about author A’s use of the phrase “political fervor” in regard to Rosenthal. Author A argues that Rosenthal wrongly removes moral considerations from her discussion of plagiarism. His mention of Rosenthal’s “political fervor” seems to suggest that he thinks that Rosenthal wants to change a traditionally moral understanding of plagiarism with her postmodern argument.

a zealous determination ██ █████████ ███████████ ██████████ ██ ███████

In the context of passage A, the phrase “political fervor” suggests that author A believes that Rosenthal wants to transform traditional categories of thought. Author A argues that Rosenthal removes moral considerations from her discussion of plagiarism, even though plagiarism has always been an issue of morality.

58%

an intense ambition ██ ████████ █████████ ████ ██████ ██████

This may be a possible meaning of the phrase “political fervor,” but it doesn’t describe the meaning of the phrase in the context of passage A. Author A doesn’t say anything about public policy, and we have no reason to believe that he thinks that Rosenthal wants to influence public policy.

10%

a powerful desire ██ ██████ █████████ ██████████

This may be a possible meaning of the phrase “political fervor,” but it doesn’t describe the meaning of the phrase in the context of passage A. We have no reason to believe that author A thinks that Rosenthal wants to start a political revolution.

a passionate eagerness ██ ███████ ██████ ██████

This doesn’t describe the meaning of “political fervor” in the context of passage A. We have no reason to believe that author A thinks that Rosenthal is trying to provoke a heated debate about plagiarism. Instead, he argues that Rosenthal removes moral considerations from the discussion of plagiarism.

23%

a heartfelt support ███ █ █████████ █████

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PrepTest 158 - Section 1 - Passage 3 - Question 17

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