LSAT 149 | Section 2 | Reading Comprehension: Q21

RC Question 21 Explanation

DISCUSSION: Most of the wrong answers focus on the relationship between Gilman and Social Darwinism. We know very little about this.

Only the first paragraph mentions broader Social Darwinism: it splits between people focussed on competition and others focussed on cooperation. We’re told Gilman is in the latter group. That’s all we’re told. We don’t know how important she was in this group, how central her ideas were, whether she differed, etc.

___________

1. This is fairly accurate, but we don’t know whether Gilman’s work was central to the activist Social Darwinists. We’re never told of Gilman’s importance within this group. So this answer goes beyond the passage and could well be false.
2. All we know about the activist Social Darwinists is that they favoured cooperation (end of paragraph 1). That’s it. We know literally nothing else, so we don’t know if Gilman’s ideas about gender fit in with the group or differed from its ideas.
3. We know almost nothing about Social Darwinists! They’re only mentioned in the second half of the first paragraph, and we’re not told if they’re merely abstract or are also practical like Gilman.
4. CORRECT. This covers all three paragraphs. Social Darwinism covers paragraph 1, the social evolution of humanity is paragraph 2, and eliminating traditional gender roles is paragraph 3.
5. This makes a false distinction. Gilman’s writings on women’s social issues were part of her Social Darwinist writings.