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RC Passage
Direction for the questions 9 to 12: The passage below is accompanied by a set of four questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Steven Pinker’s new book, “Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters,” offers a pragmatic dose of measured optimism, presenting rationality as a fragile but achievable ideal in personal and civic life. . . . Pinker’s ambition to illuminate such a crucial topic offers the welcome prospect of a return to sanity.... It’s no small achievement to make formal logic, game theory, statistics and Bayesian reasoning delightful topics full of charm and relevance.
It’s also plausible to believe that a wider application of the rational tools he analyzes would improve the world in important ways. His primer on statistics and scientific uncertainty is particularly timely and should be required reading before consuming any news about the [COVID] pandemic. More broadly, he argues that less media coverage of shocking but vanishingly rare events, from shark attacks to adverse vaccine reactions, would help prevent dangerous overreactions, fatalism and the diversion of finite resources away from solvable but less-dramatic issues, like malnutrition in the developing world.
It's a reasonable critique, and Pinker is not the first to make it. But analyzing the political economy of journalism — its funding structures, ownership concentration and increasing reliance on social media shares — would have given a fuller picture of why so much coverage is so misguided and what we might do about it.
Pinker’s main focus is the sort of conscious, sequential reasoning that can track the steps in a geometric proof or an argument in formal logic. Skill in this domain maps directly onto the navigation of many real-world problems, and Pinker shows how greater mastery of the tools of rationality can improve decision-making in medical, legal, financial and many other contexts in which we must act on uncertain and shifting information....
Despite the undeniable power of the sort of rationality he describes, many of the deepest insights in the history of science, math, music and art strike their originators in moments of epiphany. From the 19th-century chemist Friedrich August Kekul6’s discovery of the structure of benzene to any of Mozart's symphonies, much extraordinary human achievement is not a product of conscious, sequential reasoning. Even Plato's Socrates — who anticipated many of Pinker’s points by nearly 2,500 years, showing the virtue of knowing what you do not know and examining all premises in arguments, not simply trusting speakers’ authority or charisma — attributed many of his most profound insights to dreams and visions. Conscious reasoning is helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff, but it would be interesting to consider the hidden aquifers that make much of the grain grow in the first place.
The role of moral and ethical education in promoting rational behavior is also underexplored. Pinker recognizes that rationality “is not just a cognitive virtue but a moral one.” But this profoundly important point, one subtly explored by ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, doesn’t really get developed. This is a shame, since possessing the right sort of moral character is arguably a precondition for using rationality in beneficial ways.
RC Line-wise Explanation
Paragraph 1
Original: Steven Pinker’s new book, “Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters,” offers a pragmatic dose of measured optimism, presenting rationality as a fragile but achievable ideal in personal and civic life.
Explanation: Pinker’s book provides a hopeful yet realistic view, portraying rationality as something delicate but possible to attain in both individual and societal contexts.
Original: Pinker’s ambition to illuminate such a crucial topic offers the welcome prospect of a return to sanity....
Explanation: By tackling the topic of rationality, Pinker encourages a shift back to logical, sane thinking in public life.
Original: It’s no small achievement to make formal logic, game theory, statistics and Bayesian reasoning delightful topics full of charm and relevance.
Explanation: It’s impressive that Pinker manages to make complex topics like logic and statistics engaging and meaningful to readers.
Paragraph 2
Original: It’s also plausible to believe that a wider application of the rational tools he analyzes would improve the world in important ways.
Explanation: It makes sense to think that using these tools more widely could lead to significant benefits for society.
Original: His primer on statistics and scientific uncertainty is particularly timely and should be required reading before consuming any news about the [COVID] pandemic.
Explanation: His explanation of statistics and uncertainty is especially relevant and useful for understanding pandemic-related news.
Original: More broadly, he argues that less media coverage of shocking but vanishingly rare events, from shark attacks to adverse vaccine reactions, would help prevent dangerous overreactions, fatalism and the diversion of finite resources away from solvable but less-dramatic issues, like malnutrition in the developing world.
Explanation: Pinker believes that excessive media focus on rare, dramatic events leads to irrational fear and misdirected attention, taking away resources from important but less sensational issues like global hunger.
Paragraph 3
Original: It's a reasonable critique, and Pinker is not the first to make it.
Explanation: This criticism of media focus is valid, and others have made similar points before.
Original: But analyzing the political economy of journalism — its funding structures, ownership concentration and increasing reliance on social media shares — would have given a fuller picture of why so much coverage is so misguided and what we might do about it.
Explanation: However, a deeper analysis of how journalism is funded and structured would better explain why media often presents misleading content and how that could be improved.
Paragraph 4
Original: Pinker’s main focus is the sort of conscious, sequential reasoning that can track the steps in a geometric proof or an argument in formal logic.
Explanation: Pinker primarily emphasizes deliberate, step-by-step thinking like that used in logical arguments and math proofs.
Original: Skill in this domain maps directly onto the navigation of many real-world problems, and Pinker shows how greater mastery of the tools of rationality can improve decision-making in medical, legal, financial and many other contexts in which we must act on uncertain and shifting information....
Explanation: Such reasoning skills are very useful for solving practical problems, and Pinker demonstrates how they can help make better decisions in fields like medicine, law, and finance, especially when outcomes are uncertain.
Paragraph 5
Original: Despite the undeniable power of the sort of rationality he describes, many of the deepest insights in the history of science, math, music and art strike their originators in moments of epiphany.
Explanation: Even though rational thinking is powerful, many major breakthroughs in various fields come from sudden, intuitive moments rather than step-by-step reasoning.
Original: From the 19th-century chemist Friedrich August Kekul6’s discovery of the structure of benzene to any of Mozart's symphonies, much extraordinary human achievement is not a product of conscious, sequential reasoning.
Explanation: Examples like Kekulé's chemical insight and Mozart's musical creations show that many great ideas arise spontaneously, not through logical reasoning.
Original: Even Plato's Socrates — who anticipated many of Pinker’s points by nearly 2,500 years, showing the virtue of knowing what you do not know and examining all premises in arguments, not simply trusting speakers’ authority or charisma — attributed many of his most profound insights to dreams and visions.
Explanation: Socrates, who emphasized questioning and rational dialogue, still credited dreams and inspiration for his deepest ideas.
Original: Conscious reasoning is helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff, but it would be interesting to consider the hidden aquifers that make much of the grain grow in the first place.
Explanation: While reasoning helps evaluate ideas, the source of creativity and insight—our subconscious inspirations—also deserves attention.
Paragraph 6
Original: The role of moral and ethical education in promoting rational behavior is also underexplored.
Explanation: The book does not sufficiently address how moral education contributes to rational thinking.
Original: Pinker recognizes that rationality “is not just a cognitive virtue but a moral one.”
Explanation: Pinker admits that rationality is not just about thinking clearly but also about acting ethically.
Original: But this profoundly important point, one subtly explored by ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, doesn’t really get developed.
Explanation: However, he doesn’t go into detail about this moral aspect, which was a major focus for philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.
Original: This is a shame, since possessing the right sort of moral character is arguably a precondition for using rationality in beneficial ways.
Explanation: That’s unfortunate, because having good moral character may be essential for using rational thinking in ways that help society.
RC Paragraph Explanation
Paragraph 1 Summary
Pinker’s book treats rationality as a crucial but fragile ideal, turning complex topics like logic and probability into enjoyable, relevant content, and offering hope for rational discourse in society.
Paragraph 2 Summary
He argues that rational tools could greatly benefit society, particularly in media and health-related decision-making, by reducing fear-based reactions and refocusing attention on solvable global issues.
Paragraph 3 Summary
While Pinker critiques media sensationalism effectively, a deeper exploration of journalism’s structural problems would have strengthened his argument.
Paragraph 4 Summary
Pinker highlights the usefulness of structured, logical reasoning for solving real-life problems and making informed decisions across various fields.
Paragraph 5 Summary
Despite emphasizing logic, the book underplays the role of intuition and inspiration in major human achievements, which have often emerged from subconscious or creative insight.
Paragraph 6 Summary
Pinker touches on the moral dimension of rationality but fails to fully explore how ethical character and education are essential for applying rationality in meaningful and constructive ways.
RC Quick Table Summary
| Paragraph Number | Main Idea |
|---|---|
| Paragraph 1 | Pinker presents rationality as essential and makes complex ideas engaging. |
| Paragraph 2 | Rational tools can guide better decisions and shift focus from rare fears. |
| Paragraph 3 | Media critique is valid but lacks deeper analysis of journalism’s structure. |
| Paragraph 4 | Logical reasoning is powerful and improves real-world decision-making. |
| Paragraph 5 | Inspiration and intuition are also vital, often driving major breakthroughs. |
| Paragraph 6 | The ethical foundation of rationality is noted but not deeply examined. |
RC Questions
Ques 9. The author refers to the ancient Greek philosophers to:
Ques 10. The author endorses Pinker's views on the importance of logical reasoning as it:
Ques 11. The author mentions Kekule's discovery of the structure of benzene and Mozart’s symphonies to illustrate the point that:
Ques 12. According to the author, for Pinker as well as the ancient Greek philosophers, rational thinking involves all of the following EXCEPT:
