XAT 2012 Question Paper
Read the following passage and provide appropriate answers for the questions
There is an essential and irreducible âdualityâ in the normative conceptualization of an individual person. We can see the person in terms of his or her âagencyâ, recognizing and respecting his or her ability to form goals, commitments, values, etc., and we can also see the person in terms of his or her âwell-beingâ. This dichotomy is lost in a model of exclusively self- interested motivation, in which a personâs agency must be entirely geared to his or her own well-being. But once that straitjacket of self-interested motivation is removed, it becomes possible to recognize the indisputable fact that the personâs agency can well be geared to considerations not covered - or at least not fully covered - by his or her own well-being. Agency may be seen as important (not just instrumentally for the pursuit of well-being, but also intrinsically), but that still leaves open the question as to how that agency is to be evaluated and appraised. Even though the use of oneâs agency is a matter for oneself to judge, the need for careful assessment of aims, objective, allegiances, etc., and the conception of the good, may be important and exacting. To recognize the distinction between the âagency aspectâ and the âwell-being aspectâ of a person does not require us to take the view that the personâs success as an agent must be independent, or completely separable from, his or her success in terms of well-being. A person may well feel happier and better off as a result of achieving what he or she wanted to achieve - perhaps for his or her family, or community, or class, or party, or some other cause. Also it is quite possible that a personâs well-being will go down as a result of frustration if there is some failure to achieve what he or she wanted to achieve as an agent, even though those achievements are not directly concerned with his or her well-being. There is really no sound basis for demanding that the agency aspect and the well-being aspect of a person should be independent of each other, and it is, I suppose, even possible that every change in one will affect the other as well. However, the point at issue is not the plausibility of their independence, but the sustainability and relevance of the distinction. The fact that two variables may be so related that one cannot change without the other, does not imply that they are the same variable, or that they will have the same values, or that the value of one can be obtained from the other on basis of some simple transformation. The importance of an agency achievement does not rest entirely on the enhancement of well-being that it may indirectly cause. The agency achievement and well-being achievement, both of which have some distinct importance, may be casually linked with each other, but this fact does not compromise the specific importance of either. In so far as utility - based welfare calculations concentrate only on the well- being of the person, ignoring the agency aspect, or actually fails to distinguish between the agency aspect and well-being aspect altogether, something of real importance is lost.
Read the sentences given below and choose the option that is best in accordance with the ideas in the passage.
I.There is a need to distinguish between the agency aspect and the well-being aspect of a person.
II.A person can be conceptualized in terms of either agency or well-being.
III.A person is important, not just instrumentally, for the pursuit of well-being
The idea of agency, as used in the passage, is implied in all the options given below, except:
For the following questions answer them individually
Alfredo, Diego and Lionel are discussing Argentinean football.
Alfredo: Argentina was a football powerhouse.
Diego: Argentina is a football powerhouse.
Lionel: Argentina will be a football powerhouse.
Which of the following cannot be inferred from the above conversation?
Ethologists, people who study animal behavior, have traditionally divided an organismâs actions into two categories: learned behavior (based on experience) and instinctive behavior (based on genotype). Some current scholars reject this distinction, claiming that all behavior is a predictable interaction of experience and genotype.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the arguments made in the sentence above?
The benefits of psychotherapy result not only from the advice the therapist gives but also from the supportive relationship offered to the patient. Even though this relationship may cost large amounts of money over many years, most patients interpret the therapistâs concern for them as genuine and identify this caring relationship as the primary factor in improving their mental health. However, recent studies have found that only eight percent of therapist/patient relationships continue after the patient terminates formal paid visits.
Which of the following is in accordance with the ideas contained in the passage? Choose the best option.
Most of the Asian countries have trade-deficit with China. Bangladeshâs trade deficit with China this year has increased by 35%. Despite large increases in exports to China, Indonesiaâs trade deficit with China continues to increase. So does that of South Korea, home of Samsung Electronics, one of the worldâs largest manufacturers of electronic gadgets.
Which of the following, if true, would be most inconsistent with the above passage?
All who studied commerce enjoy sports. No tax consultant enjoys sports. All those who enjoy sports love classical music.
If the above sentences are true, which of the following also must be true?
The head ___________ was annoyed to see a _________ in the soup.
The option that would best fill the blanks in the above sentence would be:
