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Reading Passage Question
In recent years, a growing belief that the way society decides what to treat as true is controlled through largely unrecognized discursive practices has led legal reformers to examine the complex (5) interconnections between narrative and law. In many legal systems, legal judgments are based on competing stories about events. Without having witnessed these events, judges and juries must validate some stories as true and reject others as false. This procedure is rooted (10) in objectivism, a philosophical approach that has supported most Western legal and intellectual systems for centuries. Objectivism holds that there is a single neutral description of each event that is unskewed by any particular point of view and that has a privileged (15) position over all other accounts. The law’s quest for truth, therefore, consists of locating this objective description, the one that tells what really happened, as opposed to what those involved thought happened. The serious flaw in objectivism is that there is no such thing (20) as the neutral, objective observer. As psychologists have demonstrated, all observers bring to a situation a set of expectations, values, and beliefs that determine what the observers are able to see and hear. Two individuals listening to the same story will hear (25) different things, because they emphasize those aspects that accord with their learned experiences and ignore those aspects that are dissonant with their view of the world. Hence there is never any escape in life or in law from selective perception, or from subjective (30) judgments based on prior experiences, values, and beliefs. The societal harm caused by the assumption of objectivist principles in traditional legal discourse is that, historically, the stories judged to be objectively (35) true are those told by people who are trained in legal discourse, while the stories of those who are not fluent in the language of the law are rejected as false. Legal scholars such as Patricia Williams, Derrick Bell, and Mari Matsuda have sought empowerment for (40) the latter group of people through the construction of alternative legal narratives. Objectivist legal discourse systematically disallows the language of emotion and experience by focusing on cognition in its narrowestsense. These legal reformers propose replacing such (45) abstract discourse with powerful personal stories. They argue that the absorbing, nonthreatening structure and tone of personal stories may convince legal insiders for the first time to listen to those not fluent in legal language. The compelling force of personal narrative (50) can create a sense of empathy between legal insiders and people traditionally excluded from legal discourse and, hence, from power. Such alternative narratives can shatter the complacency of the legal establishment and disturb its tranquility. Thus, the engaging power of (55) narrative might play a crucial, positive role in the process of legal reconstruction by overcoming differences in background and training and forming a new collectivity based on emotional empathy.
‘In recent years, a growing belief that the way society decides’ is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions.
The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solution and Explanation
- Which one of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
(A) Some legal scholars have sought to empower people historically excluded from traditional legal discourse by instructing them in the forms of discourse favored by legal insiders.
(B) Some legal scholars have begun to realize the social harm caused by the adversarial atmosphere that has pervaded many legal systems for centuries.
(C) Some legal scholars have proposed alleviating the harm caused by the prominence of objectivist principles within legal discourse by replacing that discourse with alternative forms of legal narrative.
(D) Some legal scholars have contended that those who feel excluded from objectivist legal systems would be empowered by the construction of a new legal language that better reflected objectivist principles.
(E) Some legal scholars have argued that the basic flaw inherent in objectivist theory can be remedied by recognizing that it is not possible to obtain a single neutral description of a particular event.
Answer: C
Explanation: According to A, legal scholars are empowering individuals who are involved in legal discourse but are not native speakers of the legal language. Option B is accurate, but not fully so; they have made a realization and are taking action. The entire and pertinent choice is C. Both D and E are incomplete options.
- According to the passage, which one of the following is true about the intellectual systems mentioned in line 11?
(A) They have long assumed the possibility of a neutral depiction of events.
(B) They have generally remained unskewed by particular points of view.
(C) Their discursive practices have yet to be analyzed by legal scholars.
(D) They accord a privileged position to the language of emotion and experience.
(E) The accuracy of their basic tenets has been confirmed by psychologists.
Answer: A
Explanation: First, objectivism is founded on the impartial portrayal of occurrences; second, objectivism has long been a supporter of the concerned intellectual systems. Combining the two, we can see that intellectual systems have long assumed the possibility of an impartial portrayal of events, choice, and so on (A). The right answer is A.
- Which one of the following best describes the sense of “cognition” referred to in line 43 of the passage?
(A) logical thinking uninfluenced by passion
(B) the interpretation of visual cues
(C) human thought that encompasses all emotion and experience
(D) the reasoning actually employed by judges to arrive at legal judgments
(E) sudden insights inspired by the power of personal stories
Answer: A
Explanation: Therefore, cognition in this sense must involve neutral language that is based on personal experience. Instead, objectivism's guiding premise is to focus on the objective truth. As a result, the idea of cognition is reduced to the objective, logical world of facts. This correctly objectivist notion of cognition is provided by (A).
- It can be inferred from the passage that Williams’ Bell, and Matsuda believe which one of the following to be a central component of legal reform?
(A) incorporating into the law the latest developments in the fields of psychology and philosophy
(B) eradicating from legal judgments discourse with a particular point of view
(C) granting all participants in legal proceedings equal access to training in the forms and manipulation of legal discourse
(D) making the law more responsive to the discursive practices of a wider variety of people
(E) instilling an appreciation of legal history and methodology in all the participants in a legal proceeding
Answer: D
Explanation: The idea of legal reform places a strong emphasis on democratizing the system so that everyone can participate in the legal system on an equal basis. In contrast to the current system, where only a select few are privy to the jargon, they want to make the law more sensitive to the ways that ordinary people talk and communicate. The wording used by (D) is a little finer.
- Which one of the following most accurately describes the author’s attitude toward proposals to introduce personal stories into legal discourse?
(A) strongly opposed
(B) somewhat skeptical
(C) ambivalent
(D) strongly supportive
(E) unreservedly optimistic
Answer: D
Explanation: The key in this passage is the author's generally level tone and use of the words "can" and "may"; this strategy can foster empathy and may benefit the situation being discussed. These words signify a somewhat more qualified sort of acceptance; they simply aren't powerful enough to convey an attitude of "unreserved" optimism. Therefore, the best way to sum up the author's position on the personal stories idea is (D), which is very positive.
- The passage suggests that Williams, Bell, and Matsuda would most likely agree with which one of the following statements regarding personal stories?
(A) Personal stories are more likely to adhere to the principles of objectivism than are other forms of discourse.
(B) Personal stories are more likely to de-emphasize differences in background and training than are traditional forms of legal discourse.
(C) Personal stories are more likely to restore tranquility to the legal establishment than are more adversarial forms of discourse.
(D) Personal stories are more likely to lead to the accurate reconstruction of facts than are traditional forms of legal narrative.
(E) Personal stories are more likely to be influenced by a person’s expectations, values, and beliefs than are other forms of discourse.
Answer: B
Explanation: They are in favor of the use of personal narratives because they think that doing so will foster empathy. The final line of the chapter suggests Option B. Option A and Option D are not covered by this text. Contrary to what is stated in the passage, Option C. D is an overly extreme option.
- Which one of the following statements about legal discourse in legal systems based on objectivism can be inferred from the passage?
(A) In most Western societies’ the legal establishment controls access to training in legal discourse.
(B) Expertise in legal discourse affords power in most Western societies.
(C) Legal discourse has become progressively more abstract for some centuries.
(D) Legal discourse has traditionally denied the existence of neutral, objective observers.
(E) Traditional legal discourse seeks to reconcile dissonant world views.
Answer: B
Explanation: The sentence informs us that such a system benefits people who have been taught to talk in legal jargon, that its proponents believe in the viability of objectivism, and that it has some connection to power. B is right because she is concurring with this.
- Those who reject objectivism would regard “the law’s quest for truth”(lines 15–16) as most similar to which one of the following?
(A) a hunt for an imaginary animal
(B) the search for a valuable mineral among worthless stones
(C) the painstaking assembly of a jigsaw puzzle
(D) comparing an apple with an orange
(E) the scientific analysis of a chemical compound
Answer: A
Explanation: Such a person would not hold a belief in the existence of such a truth or in the capability of exactly determining "what really happened," as legal "truth" is an objectivist ideal. Therefore, "the law's pursuit for truth" would be seen by such an opponent of objectivism as an useless search for an impossibility. In some shape or form, this might be your pre-phrase. The "search for an imaginary animal" in (A) is the choice that comes closest to an analogue. All of the incorrect decisions are based on things that actually exist, whereas "truth" doesn't exist to objectivism's detractors.
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