Question

Hi Maonuo, thanks for the question! I see the confusion regarding the "self-interest" portion of the correct answer choice. While it may not be very obvious that this statement by the adviser is in some way selfish, the adviser clearly states that free speech would benefit both humans and the government. This person is a member of both groups (we are assuming that they are part of the government as a policy adviser, and a human, for obvious reasons!). In defending something that would benefit themself, this statement is then said with "self-interest". Hope this helps!

This answer choice is tricky with the assumption that the advisor is a part of both groups (human and government). How do we spot these types of assumptions in other questions? I don't want to make this same mistake again.

Hi, I think that we can assume these based on common sense. A policy advisor is someone who advises a government or other quasi governmental entity like the EU or the IMF, and this person is obviously a human. However, I think the self interest is that of the government, rather than of the advisor. It relies on an assumption that a government is trying to do what is best, which may not always be true, but I think still falls in the category of common sense.