[求助]LSAT15-4-12

Questions 11-12

Conservative: Socialists begin their arguments with an analysis of history, from which they claim to derive certain trends leading inevitably to a socialist future. But in the day-to-day progress of history there are never such discernible trends. Only in retrospect does inevitability appear, for history occurs through accident, contingency, and individual struggle.

Socialist: If we thought the outcome of history were inevitable, we would not work so hard to transform the institutions of capitalist society. But to transform them we must first understand them, and we can only understand them by an analysis of their history. This is why historical analysis is important in socialist argument.

11.   In the dispute the issue between the socialist and the conservatives can most accurately be described as whether

(A) a socialist society is the inevitable consequence of historical trends that can be identified by an analysis of history

(B) the institutions of capitalist society stand in need of transformation

(C) socialists’ arguments for the inevitability of socialism are justified

(D) it is possible for people by their own efforts to affect the course of history（E）

(E) socialists analyze history in order to support the view that socialism is inevitable

12.   The socialist’s statements imply a conflict with the conservative’s view of history if the conservative also holds that

(A) it would have been impossible for anyone to predict a significant period beforehand that the institutions of capitalist society would take the form that they actually took

(B) the apparent inevitability of historical change is deceptive; all historical events could have occurred otherwise than they actually did

(C) in the past, radical changes in social structures have mostly resulted in a deterioration of social conditions

(D) since socialism cannot arise by accident or contingency, it can only arise as a result of individual struggle（E）

(E) because historical changes are mostly accidental, it is impossible for people to direct their efforts sensibly toward achieving large-scale changes in social conditions

1. Conservatives:
1. Premise: history occurs through accident, contingency and individual struggle
2. intermediate conclusion: one cannot identify historical trends
3. conclusion: a socialist future is not inevitable
2. Socialists:
1. first agree with consertives that a socialist future is not inevitable
2. the historical study is necessary to understand the thing that they are going to change
3. implied conclusion: conservatives misunderstood socialists as to the use of historical study.
3. the dispute is over the use of the historical study. Socialists seem to argue that conservatives have misunderstood the socialists' purpose of studing history. So E is the key to Q11.
4. To answer Q12, we need to find the option in which conservatives express their opinion of the relation of historical study to transformation of society. Thus E is the key to Q12.