PT133.S4.P4.Q23 > Analytics

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Passage A.

Historical scholarship · Ideal of objectivity is central

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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.

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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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Historical scholarship · Requires self-discipline to be different from propaganda

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.

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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.

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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 ██ ███ █████████ ██ █ ███████████ ███ ██████████ █████████

Question Type

Stated

Let’s think about what each passage has in common. They both think that historians should be objective. But, they define objectivity differently. Still, there must be something about how each passage thinks about objectivity that’s similar. It’s difficult to make a more specific prediction here, so at this point we’ll just have to go to the answers and consider whether each passage stated the answer as a requirement for historical research.

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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.

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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.

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Stated in Passage A and Passage B.

76%

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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.

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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.

12%

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PrepTest 133 - Section 4 - Passage 4 - Question 23

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PrepTest 133 - Section 4 - Passage 4 - Question 23

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