Q23

[andrewgong01]

I wanted to check my understanding for Q23 because I got this right through POE but I am not sure if my reason for "C" as the credited response is correct

For "C" I am guessing the support for inevitable disappointment is that on Line 43 the author did say this was a "vain (useless) hope" . And sympathetic seems less clear cut but the author was not bashing this nostalgia. It also seemed like the author was quite understanding about why people were nostalgic because line 39 the author seems to suggest there is something about our minds that make us want to buy into theories like the Grand Theories.

The other choices ( Somewhat Unsure about "D" but during the test something about it just sounded wrong to me)
A) Political Implications - Scope; political implications was never brought up in the passage
B) Disdainful is a bit strong but the author is against the whole idea of determinism , which, in turn, could also apply for the nostalgia of it. But originality seems out of scope as it was never brought up
D) I was not sure on "D" but I thought "fearful" may have been a stretch and that the author seems to have suggested that we no longer buy into grand theories so it does not make sense to say it will prolong the influence of grand theories
E) Opposite of what we want; the author wants ti increase the contemplation of contingency; not limit it.

[ohthatpatrick]

You nailed it. Line 33 acknowledges their attraction and line 39 reiterates that “cognitive satisfaction”. Line 43 attests to the inevitable disappointment of our “vain hope for inevitability”.

I agree with (D) that ‘fearful’ is too strong; the author seems to accept the decline of grand theories and nothing about what follows the ‘nostalgia for determinism’ part of the passage deals with any prospect of grand theories coming back.

And I think “disdainful” in (B) is way too strong, since the author is, as (C) says, sympathetic to why we crave such an orderly way of thinking about the world.