PrepTest 148

[lcid:3689] Prep Test 148 LSAT — Reading Comp — S2 Reading comp

Passage

 . The following passage is adapted from a journal article.  .       To understand John Rawls's theory of justice,  . one Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Legal Studies


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • A view is previewed, and the prevailing view it stood against is explained and undermined
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Preview - Rawls’s theory of justice (probably main topic)
    • Reacting against - Utilitarianism - justice is what gives most satisfaction to most people
    • Problem (Rawls + Author) - Violating 1 person’s rights can make many others happy (e.g., killing 1 person to appease a mob)

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Question (Alternative?); Rawls’s answer (Process; Author - ingenious)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Question - If not utilitarianism, then what?
    • Answer (Rawls) - Even if we can’t agree on good life, fair process = fair outcome
    • Author - Ingenious

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Question (Fair procedure?); Rawls’s answer (Veil of ignorance; Author - Clever)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Question - What is a fair procedure?
    • Answer (Rawls) - Veil of ignorance - the process you’d make up if you didn’t know the outcome (Example - cutting a cake but not getting to pick pieces)
    • Author - Clever

Paragraph 4

  • Paragraph note
    • Rawls generalizes from last point
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Rawls - Thought experiment - Original position - self-interested, but don’t know your station in life
    • Outcome - People want to set up fair system in case they’re born poor

Paragraph 5

  • Paragraph note
    • Rawls’s view is further explored; the Author critiques it
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Rawls - People want primary goods (e.g., rights, opportunities, money), so in Original Position, people would spread them around
    • Author (negative) - Rawls’s view is redistributionist since goods aren’t evenly spread

Main Point: Reacting to the shortcomings of utilitarianism, Rawls proposed an ingenious/clever alternative theory of justice that was based on a thought experiment where people start without knowing their station in life and create a just process, though this is inherently redistributionist.

Key Lines?

Lines 3-5 - The old theory is introduced

Lines 13-16 - Rawls’s critique of it is introduced

Lines 17-22 - A first question is asked, and Rawls’s “ingenious” answer is offered

Lines 25-27 - A second question is asked, and Rawls’s “clever” answer is offered

Lines 35-39 - Rawls generalizes from the last point and introduced a thought experiment

Lines 29-51 - Rawls overall view is brought together to present his alternative theory of justice

Lines 51-53 - The Author critiques Rawls’s theory

Meta-Structure?

Old Theory/New Theory - Paragraph 1 notes that Rawls’s theory of justice was a reaction against a dominant theory - utilitarianism (Lines 1-4). First, Rawls highlights a flaw with it, then he proposes an alternative approach. In general, the Author’s opinion of the new theory serves as the main point of the passage. Here, that opinion is mixed - she finds it “ingenious” (Line 19) and “clever” (Line 26), but it ends up being inherently “unfortunate[]” (Line 51) in a certain way.

Question/Answer - The Author asks two questions to explore Rawls’s theory (Paragraphs 2 and 3). These questions and their answers are limited to the paragraphs in which they’re asked, though the answers build to the main point.

Last Thoughts?

The Author here has an opinion that isn’t 100% clear towards Rawls’s theory of justice. On the one hand, the thinking behind it is referred to as “ingenious” (Line 19) and “clever” (Line 26). However, she critiques his view at the end by calling it “[u]nfortunately, an inherently redistributionist idea” (Lines 51-52; it’s the “Unfortunately” that lets us know she thinks this is a critique). So while she does appreciate Rawls’s theory, she has at least one issue with it. Let’s keep that in mind for any attitude question.

Question prompt

The author's primary purpose Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Social Science

Strategy Overview

Review the main point of the passage, then abstract from that to describe the purpose behind the Author sitting down to write it

Answer Anticipation

The primary purpose of every passage is the same - to prove the main point. So we should start there, and then abstract from it to get to the purpose behind it.Here, we said that the main point was:Reacting to the shortcomings of utilitarianism, Rawls proposed an ingenious/clever alternative theory of justice that was based on a thought experiment where people start without knowing their station in life and create a just process, though this is inherently redistributionist.We noted that it was an interesting main point since the Author talks about the “ingenious” (Line 19) and “clever” (Line 26) reasoning behind Rawls’s theory, but she ultimately decides that it is “[u]nfortunately” inherently redistributive (Lines 51-52). So the Author does use the passage to explore a theory she finds interesting, but she doesn’t in the end advocate for that theory. Let’s find an answer that reflects that view.

Answer choices

  1. A
    show why a once-dominant Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) (Lines 3-5) The pre-Rawls dominant theory was Utilitarianism, and the Author does note some odd consequences of it. However, there are two issues with this answer. First, the passage never explicitly states that Utilitarianism was abandoned. Even if we accept that Rawls’s theory must have convinced some people, it’s possible that there are still many others who still ascribe to Utilitarianism, even if it’s no longer dominant. Second, the passage spends so much more time on exploring the interesting nature of Rawls’s approach, so the primary purpose can’t be about Utilitarianism.

  2. B
    describe the novel way Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem

    (B) (Line 19; Line 26) The majority of the passage walks the reader through the thought process that builds up to Rawls’s overall theory of justice. Along the way, the Author calls it “ingenious” and “clever.” And while the Author does use the majority of the passage to discuss this new approach to justice, she doesn’t ultimately advocate for it. This answer, thus, perfectly reflects that overall opinion. The Author describes the novel (“ingenious”, “clever”) way that Rawls approaches the problem of justice, and the answer doesn’t go too far in stating that she ultimately sides with it (e.g., by using a verb like “advocating for the novel way…”).

  3. C
    sketch the historical development Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) While the Author brings up the logical progression that leads to Rawls’s theory, it’s not a historical progression, so this answer is off. Additionally, it’s never stated that Rawls’s theory is celebrated.

  4. D
    debate the pros and Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) First, we have to accept that Rawls’s theory is complex, but it appears as if it can be understood with a couple thought experiments. Second, the Author doesn’t “debate” the pros and cons of Rawls’s theory - she presents the ingenious/clever nature of his reasoning but its unfortunately inherently redistributive nature. She never balances them against each other, so there’s no debate.

  5. E
    argue for the truth Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) (Lines 51-52) Rawls’s theory is never called controversial, and the Author refers to it as unfortunate, so she’s not arguing for its truth.

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