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Historian: There is no direct evidence that timber

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Topic: Historian: There is no direct evidence that timber
PostSun Jun 20, 2010 6:48 pm
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Historian: There is no direct evidence that timber was traded between the ancient nations of Poran and Nayal, but the fact that a law setting tariffs on timber imports from Poran was enacted during the third Nayalese dynasty does suggest that during that period a timber trade was conducted.
Critic: Your reasoning is flawed. During its third dynasty, Nayal may well have imported timber from Poran, but certainly on today’s statute books there remain many laws regulating activities that were once common but in which people no longer engage.

1) The critic’s response to the historian’s reasoning does which one of the following?
(A) It implies an analogy between the present and the past.
(B) It identifies a general principle that the historian’s reasoning violates.
(C) It distinguishes between what has been established as a certainty and what has been established as a possibility.
(D) It establishes explicit criteria that must be used in evaluating indirect evidence.
(E) It points out the dissimilar roles that law plays in societies that are distinct from one another.

2) The critic’s response to the historian is flawed because it

(A) produces evidence that is consistent with there not having been any timber trade between Poran and Nayal during the third Nayalese dynasty
(B) cites current laws without indicating whether the laws cited are relevant to the timber trade
(C) fails to recognize that the historian’s conclusion was based on indirect evidence rather than direct evidence
(D) takes no account of the difference between a law’s enactment at a particular time and a law’s existence as part of a legal code at a particular time
(E) accepts without question that assumption about the purpose of laws that underlies the historian’s argument

OA later after some discussion
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PostSun Jun 20, 2010 6:58 pm
IMO:
1-C
2-C
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PostSun Jun 20, 2010 7:58 pm
this_time_i_will wrote:
IMO:
1-C
2-C
Pls give reasoning
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PostSun Jun 20, 2010 11:16 pm
1: A

In his reply the critic takes an example from the present time to support his argument about an event that happened in the past. So option A looks right to me.

2: D

If you observe the reasoning of critic, he says the that there are so many laws today in which people no longer engage. But when those laws were enacted, people must have engaged in activities related to those laws. Because people were engaged is such activities, the requirement of those laws was felt. So basically the critic assumes as if the laws were enacted in the present time when people no longer engage in any activities pertaining to those law, which is a wrong reasoning. So D.
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PostMon Jun 21, 2010 12:42 am
hardik.jadeja wrote:
2: D

If you observe the reasoning of critic, he says the that there are so many laws today in which people no longer engage. But when those laws were enacted, people must have engaged in activities related to those laws. Because people were engaged is such activities, the requirement of those laws was felt. So basically the critic assumes as if the laws were enacted in the present time when people no longer engage in any activities pertaining to those law, which is a wrong reasoning. So D.
Feel, critics intending: Laws were enacted when the trade was happening, but with the passage of time people stopped trading…but the same laws still exist. From this he intends to show that there was no trade.

It appears to me that critics do not debate whether there was any trade happening when the laws were enacted or not. He just says ‘Many laws exists for activities no longer performed=> it may be possible that law for trade during dynasty existed but Trade may hv stopped over course of time…and tries to show that historian just looking at the law may not get right inference whether trade was happening during dynasty or not

This does not support D even. All choices appears wrong to me. Pls correct me


OA - A & D
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