Despite how ________ they may seem on first glance, the works of the philosopher Georg Hegel have proven to be...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Despite how ________ they may seem on first glance, the works of the philosopher Georg Hegel have proven to be quite influential. Readers who manage to penetrate Hegel's frustratingly dense prose often find that his thrillingly original and profound ideas wind up shaping their own thinking.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Despite how _____ they may seem on first glance,' |
|
| 'the works of the philosopher Georg Hegel have proven to be quite influential.' |
|
| 'Readers who manage to penetrate Hegel's frustratingly dense prose' |
|
| 'often find that his thrillingly original and profound ideas wind up shaping their own thinking.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Though Hegel's philosophical works may initially seem difficult to understand, they have proven highly influential because readers who work through the challenging prose discover profound ideas.
Argument Flow: The passage sets up a paradox—something about Hegel's first impression contrasts with his proven influence. It then explains this paradox by showing that while his writing is 'frustratingly dense,' the underlying ideas are 'thrillingly original and profound.'
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The word 'despite' tells us we need a contrast
- The blank describes how Hegel's works 'seem on first glance,' which must contrast with them being 'quite influential'
- We also know from later in the passage that readers must 'penetrate' his 'frustratingly dense prose'—this confirms that the initial impression is one of difficulty or inaccessibility
- The relationship needed is: Despite seeming [difficult/unclear/hard to understand] at first → they're actually influential
- So the right answer should describe something that would make you think the works wouldn't be influential—something about being hard to understand or unclear
✗ Incorrect
- This means having authority or being trusted
- This doesn't create a logical contrast—if something seems authoritative, you'd expect it to be influential
- There's no 'despite' relationship here
✓ Correct
- This means unclear, difficult to understand, or impenetrable
- Creates perfect contrast: 'Despite seeming unclear/hard to understand → they're actually influential'
- Matches perfectly with 'penetrate' and 'dense prose' later in the passage
- The logical flow makes sense: initial opacity vs. ultimate influence
✗ Incorrect
- This means based on observation and experience rather than theory
- Doesn't create a contrast with being influential—empirical works can easily be influential
- No logical 'despite' relationship
✗ Incorrect
- This means easy or superficial
- Creates the wrong contrast—if something seems easy/superficial, the contrast would be that it's actually deep, not that it's influential
Answer: Choice B (opaque)