Question Bank / Reading and Writing / Cross-Text Connections
Cross-Text Connections SAT question
Reading and Writing · Craft and Structure · Medium · Answer it here, explanation included.
Text 1
Philosopher G.E. Moore’s most influential work entails the concept of common sense. He asserts that there are certain beliefs that all people, including philosophers, know instinctively to be true, whether or not they profess otherwise: among them, that they have bodies, or that they exist in a world with other objects that have three dimensions. Moore’s careful work on common sense may seem obvious but was in fact groundbreaking.
Text 2
External world skepticism is a philosophical stance supposing that we cannot be sure of the existence of anything outside our own minds. During a lecture, G.E. Moore once offered a proof refuting this stance by holding out his hands and saying, “Here is one hand, and here is another.” Many philosophers reflexively reject this proof (Annalisa Coliva called it “an obviously annoying failure”) but have found it a challenge to articulate exactly why the proof fails.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 1 most likely respond to proponents of the philosophical stance outlined in Text 2?
ExplanationShow
Choice D is the best answer. According to the author of Text 1, Moore’s definition of common sense—things we instinctively know are true—includes the belief that we all “exist in a world with other objects.” The author of Text 1 describes this notion as both “obvious” and “groundbreaking.” So it’s safe to infer that the author would observe that Moore would respond to external world skeptics by arguing that since everyone instinctively knows that things exist outside of their own minds, then external world skepticism must be wrong.
Choice A is incorrect. We can’t infer that the author of Text 1 would respond this way to external world skeptics. If anything, the author of Text 1 seems to agree with Moore. Choice B is incorrect. We can’t infer that the author of Text 1 would respond this way to external world skeptics. The author of Text 1 never mentions external world skeptics directly, let alone why they have a hard time refuting Moore’s position. Choice C is incorrect. We can’t infer that the author of Text 1 would respond this way to external world skeptics. Text 1’s presentation of Moore’s concept of common sense only includes the idea that some facts are true based on instinct—it doesn’t mention the idea that some proofs are inadequate based on instinct.
Drill this skill on Aceit
Adaptive practice, a daily plan, and score tracking take a free account so we can save your work.
More Cross-Text Connections questions
- Text 1 In 1916, H. Dugdale Sykes disputed claims that The Two Noble Kinsmen was coauthored by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher. Sykes felt Fletcher's contributions to the pla
- Text 1 Public policy researcher Anthony Fowler studied the history of elections in Australia, a country that requires citizens to vote. Fowler argues that requiring citizens to vo
- Text 1 Growth in the use of novel nanohybrids—materials created from the conjugation of multiple distinct nanomaterials, such as iron oxide and gold nanomaterials conjugated for u
- Text 1 Africa's Sahara region—once a lush ecosystem—began to dry out about 8,000 years ago. A change in Earth's orbit that affected climate has been posited as a cause of desertif
- Text 1 Soy sauce, made from fermented soybeans, is noted for its umami flavor. Umami—one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, bitter, salty, and sour—was formally classified
- Text 1 Dance choreographer Alvin Ailey's deep admiration for jazz music can most clearly be felt in the rhythms and beats his works were set to. Ailey collaborated with some of th