Text 1Philosopher G.E. Moore's most influential work entails the concept of common sense. He asserts that there are certain beliefs...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Text 1
Philosopher G.E. Moore's most influential work entails the concept of common sense. He asserts that there are certain beliefs that all people, including philosophers, know instinctively to be true, whether or not they profess otherwise: among them, that they have bodies, or that they exist in a world with other objects that have three dimensions. Moore's careful work on common sense may seem obvious but was in fact groundbreaking.
Text 2
External world skepticism is a philosophical stance supposing that we cannot be sure of the existence of anything outside our own minds. During a lecture, G.E. Moore once offered a proof refuting this stance by holding out his hands and saying, 'Here is one hand, and here is another.' Many philosophers reflexively reject this proof (Annalisa Coliva called it 'an obviously annoying failure') but have found it a challenge to articulate exactly why the proof fails.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 1 most likely respond to proponents of the philosophical stance outlined in Text 2?
By agreeing with those proponents that Moore's treatment of positions that contradict his own is fundamentally unserious
By suggesting that an instinctive distaste for Moore's position is preventing external world skeptics from constructing a sufficiently rigorous refutation of Moore
By arguing that if it is valid to assert that some facts are true based on instinct, it is also valid to assert that some proofs are inadequate based on instinct
By pointing out that Moore would assert that external world skepticism is at odds with other beliefs those proponents must unavoidably hold
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Text 1: "Philosopher G.E. Moore's most influential work entails the concept of common sense." |
|
| "He asserts that there are certain beliefs that all people, including philosophers, know instinctively to be true, whether or not they profess otherwise" |
|
| "among them, that they have bodies, or that they exist in a world with other objects that have three dimensions." |
|
| "Moore's careful work on common sense may seem obvious but was in fact groundbreaking." |
|
| Text 2: "External world skepticism is a philosophical stance supposing that we cannot be sure of the existence of anything outside our own minds." |
|
| "During a lecture, G.E. Moore once offered a proof refuting this stance by holding out his hands and saying, 'Here is one hand, and here is another.'" |
|
| "Many philosophers reflexively reject this proof (Annalisa Coliva called it 'an obviously annoying failure') but have found it a challenge to articulate exactly why the proof fails." |
|
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? How would the author of Text 1 most likely respond to proponents of external world skepticism?
What type of answer do we need? A prediction of how Text 1's author would characterize Moore's likely response to external world skeptics.
Any limiting keywords? Most likely respond
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- Based on Text 1, the author presents Moore as asserting that ALL people, including philosophers, instinctively know certain beliefs to be true "whether or not they profess otherwise."
- When it comes to external world skeptics, Text 1's author would likely say Moore would point out that these skeptics unavoidably hold beliefs that contradict their skeptical stance.
By agreeing with those proponents that Moore's treatment of positions that contradict his own is fundamentally unserious
✗ Incorrect
- suggests Moore's treatment is "fundamentally unserious" but Text 1 presents his work as "careful" and "groundbreaking"
By suggesting that an instinctive distaste for Moore's position is preventing external world skeptics from constructing a sufficiently rigorous refutation of Moore
✗ Incorrect
- focuses on skeptics' inability to construct refutations rather than Text 1's focus on universal instinctive beliefs
By arguing that if it is valid to assert that some facts are true based on instinct, it is also valid to assert that some proofs are inadequate based on instinct
✗ Incorrect
- doesn't capture Moore's position about unavoidable beliefs contradicting professed skepticism
By pointing out that Moore would assert that external world skepticism is at odds with other beliefs those proponents must unavoidably hold
✓ Correct
- captures the core insight that external world skepticism contradicts beliefs skeptics "must unavoidably hold," aligning with Text 1's emphasis on universal instinctive beliefs