LSAT 116 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q8

RC Question 8 Explanation

DISCUSSION: Unusually for a RC question, numbers are important here. There are three proposals and two criticisms.

___________

1. No one disagrees on the goals of multicultural education. No one even mentions the goals.
2. Only the third proposal values the mystical (lines 50-53).
3. Only the third viewpoint criticizes the second viewpoint for using Western methods (lines 54-56). 
4. There are two criticisms. But this isn’t the main point of disagreement. The two criticisms disagree over which values to adopt (if any) when studying another culture. The first criticism adopts neutral values, while the second criticism favors adopting the values of the culture being studied.
   This answer also implies that critics agree which proposals are bad, but disagree on why. That’s not what happens. Instead, 2 criticizes 1, and 3 criticizes 1 and 2. 
5. CORRECT. The first criticism claims the proposal from the first paragraph distorts foreign cultures by imposing Western values. The first criticism recommends neutrality. The second criticism argues that neutrality is itself a Western value, and so the second proposal will also fail to understand foreign cultures.