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RC Passage
Direction for the questions 5 to 8: The passage below is accompanied by a set of four questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Today we can hardly conceive of ourselves without an unconscious. Yet between 1700 and 1900, this notion developed as a genuinely original thought. The “unconscious” burst the shell of conventional language, coined as it had been to embody the fleeting ideas and the shifting conceptions of several generations until, finally, it became fixed and defined in specialized terms within the realm of medical psychology and Freudian psychoanalysis.
The vocabulary concerning the soul and the mind increased enormously in the course of the nineteenth century. The enrichments of literary and intellectual language led to an altered understanding of the meanings that underlie time-honored expressions and traditional catchwords. At the same time, once coined, powerful new ideas attracted to themselves a whole host of seemingly unrelated issues, practices, and experiences, creating a peculiar network of preoccupations that as a group had not existed before. The drawn-out attempt to approach and define the unconscious brought together the spiritualist and the psychical researcher of borderline phenomena (such as apparitions, spectral illusions, haunted houses, mediums, trance, automatic writing); the psychiatrist or alienist probing the nature of mental disease, of abnormal ideation, hallucination, delirium, melancholia, mania; the surgeon performing operations with the aid of hypnotism; the magnetizer claiming to correct the disequilibrium in the universal flow of magnetic fluids but who soon came to be regarded as a clever manipulator of the imagination; the physiologist and the physician who puzzled over sleep, dreams, sleepwalking, anesthesia, the influence of the mind on the body in health and disease; the neurologist concerned with the functions of the brain and the physiological basis of mental life; the philosopher interested in the will, the emotions, consciousness, knowledge, imagination and the creative genius; and, last but not least, the psychologist.
Significantly, most if not all of these practices (for example, hypnotism in surgery or psychological magnetism) originated in the waning years of the eighteenth century and during the early decades of the nineteenth century, as did some of the disciplines (such as psychology and psychical research). The majority of topics too were either new or assumed hitherto unknown colors. Thus, before 1790, few if any spoke, in medical terms, of the affinity between creative genius and the hallucinations of the insane .
Striving vaguely and independently to give expression to a latent conception, various lines of thought can be brought together by some novel term. The new concept then serves as a kind of resting place or stocktaking in the development of ideas, giving satisfaction and a stimulus for further discussion or speculation. Thus, the massive introduction of the term unconscious by Hartmann in 1869 appeared to focalize many stray thoughts, affording a temporary feeling that a crucial step had been taken forward, a comprehensive knowledge gained, a knowledge that required only further elaboration, explication, and unfolding in order to bring in a bounty of higher understanding. Ultimately, Hartmann’s attempt at defining the unconscious proved fruitless because he extended its reach into every realm of organic and inorganic, spiritual, intellectual, and instinctive existence, severely diluting the precision and compromising the impact of the concept.
RC Line-wise Explanation
Paragraph 1
"Today we can hardly conceive of ourselves without an unconscious."
Explanation: Nowadays, the idea of the unconscious is so embedded in our thinking that it's hard to imagine not having it.
"Yet between 1700 and 1900, this notion developed as a genuinely original thought."
Explanation: However, the concept of the unconscious only began to take shape between the 18th and 19th centuries.
"The “unconscious” burst the shell of conventional language, coined as it had been to embody the fleeting ideas and the shifting conceptions of several generations…"
Explanation: The term “unconscious” emerged because existing language couldn’t fully express evolving ideas across generations.
"…until, finally, it became fixed and defined in specialized terms within the realm of medical psychology and Freudian psychoanalysis."
Explanation: Eventually, the concept became clearly defined, especially through medical psychology and Freud’s psychoanalysis.
Paragraph 2
"The vocabulary concerning the soul and the mind increased enormously in the course of the nineteenth century."
Explanation: During the 1800s, many new terms about the mind and soul were developed.
"The enrichments of literary and intellectual language led to an altered understanding of the meanings that underlie time-honored expressions and traditional catchwords."
Explanation: This growth in language changed how people interpreted old sayings and traditional ideas.
"At the same time, once coined, powerful new ideas attracted to themselves a whole host of seemingly unrelated issues, practices, and experiences…"
Explanation: New concepts drew in many different ideas and experiences that had not previously been linked.
"…creating a peculiar network of preoccupations that as a group had not existed before."
Explanation: These new associations formed unique areas of concern that hadn’t existed together before.
"The drawn-out attempt to approach and define the unconscious brought together…"
Explanation: Trying to understand the unconscious involved many different people and fields of study.
"…the spiritualist and the psychical researcher of borderline phenomena (such as apparitions…trance, automatic writing);"
Explanation: This included people studying supernatural phenomena like ghosts, trances, and writing during hypnosis.
"…the psychiatrist or alienist probing the nature of mental disease…;"
Explanation: Also involved were doctors examining mental illnesses and unusual psychological conditions.
"…the surgeon performing operations with the aid of hypnotism;"
Explanation: Some surgeons even used hypnosis during surgery.
"…the magnetizer claiming to correct the disequilibrium in the universal flow of magnetic fluids…"
Explanation: Magnetizers claimed they could fix imbalances in the body’s energy using magnetic forces.
"…but who soon came to be regarded as a clever manipulator of the imagination;"
Explanation: Eventually, these magnetizers were seen as people who manipulated others’ minds.
"…the physiologist and the physician who puzzled over sleep, dreams, sleepwalking…;"
Explanation: Doctors studied sleep and dreams, trying to understand how the mind and body interact.
"…the neurologist concerned with the functions of the brain and the physiological basis of mental life;"
Explanation: Neurologists focused on how brain activity connects to mental processes.
"…the philosopher interested in the will, the emotions, consciousness, knowledge…; and, last but not least, the psychologist."
Explanation: Philosophers studied ideas like consciousness and emotion, and psychologists examined mental functions—all contributing to ideas about the unconscious.
Paragraph 3
"Significantly, most if not all of these practices…originated in the waning years of the eighteenth century and during the early decades of the nineteenth century…"
Explanation: These fields and practices began in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
"…as did some of the disciplines (such as psychology and psychical research)."
Explanation: This time also saw the birth of new academic disciplines.
"The majority of topics too were either new or assumed hitherto unknown colors."
Explanation: Most of the issues being explored were either completely new or had never been seen in this way before.
"Thus, before 1790, few if any spoke, in medical terms, of the affinity between creative genius and the hallucinations of the insane . . ."
Explanation: For example, before 1790, doctors didn’t typically compare artistic genius with insanity.
Paragraph 4
"Striving vaguely and independently to give expression to a latent conception, various lines of thought can be brought together by some novel term."
Explanation: Different ideas, often unclear and separate, can come together under a new concept.
"The new concept then serves as a kind of resting place or stocktaking in the development of ideas…"
Explanation: This new term helps organize and reflect on the development of thinking.
"…giving satisfaction and a stimulus for further discussion or speculation."
Explanation: It provides a sense of clarity and encourages deeper exploration.
"Thus, the massive introduction of the term unconscious by Hartmann in 1869 appeared to focalize many stray thoughts…"
Explanation: When Hartmann introduced the term “unconscious” in 1869, it helped bring together many scattered ideas.
"…affording a temporary feeling that a crucial step had been taken forward…"
Explanation: This created the impression that there had been real progress in understanding the mind.
"…a knowledge that required only further elaboration…to bring in a bounty of higher understanding."
Explanation: People believed that building on this concept would lead to deeper insight.
"Ultimately, Hartmann’s attempt at defining the unconscious proved fruitless because he extended its reach into every realm…"
Explanation: However, Hartmann’s definition failed because he applied the idea of the unconscious too broadly.
"…severely diluting the precision and compromising the impact of the concept."
Explanation: This overuse made the concept vague and less useful.
RC Paragraph Explanation
Paragraph 1 Summary
The concept of the unconscious emerged between 1700 and 1900, evolving from vague ideas into a specialized term used in psychology and psychoanalysis.
Paragraph 2 Summary
As language about the mind expanded in the 19th century, various fields—from psychiatry to spiritualism—began engaging with topics related to the unconscious, forming a new and diverse network of inquiry.
Paragraph 3 Summary
Many of these practices and disciplines began in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, introducing new ideas or reinterpreting old ones, such as the connection between madness and creativity.
Paragraph 4 Summary
The introduction of the term “unconscious” by Hartmann in 1869 unified scattered ideas and encouraged further exploration, but his overly broad definition ultimately weakened the concept's clarity and effectiveness.
RC Quick Table Summary
| Paragraph Number | Main Idea |
|---|---|
| Paragraph 1 | The idea of the unconscious developed between 1700–1900, becoming formalized in psychology. |
| Paragraph 2 | Various disciplines contributed to the emerging idea of the unconscious in the 19th century. |
| Paragraph 3 | These fields and concepts emerged around the same time, reshaping understanding of the mind. |
| Paragraph 4 | Hartmann’s term “unconscious” unified thought but became diluted due to overextension. |
RC Questions
Ques 5. Which one of the following statements best describes what the passage is about?
Ques 6. “The enrichments of literary and intellectual language led to an altered understanding of the meanings that underlie time-honored expressions and traditional catchwords.” Which one of the following interpretations of this sentence would be closest in meaning to the original?
Ques 7. Which one of the following sets of words is closest to mapping the main arguments of the passage?
Ques 8. All of the following statements may be considered valid inferences from the passage, EXCEPT:
