For some philosophers, writing is an unfortunate necessity, a means of communication that is at best irrelevant to the philosophical thought it expresses and at worst a barrier to that thought. The words in which the philosophical investigator writes up his or her results, according to these philosophers, should be as few and as transparent as possible.
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7) The philosophers described above make which of the following assumptions about philosophy as a scholarly discipline?
A) Philosophy should entail the direct contemplation of thought, with as few mediating influences as possible.
B) Philosophy should be a means of personal expression as well as a vehicle for the communication of ideas.
C) Philosophy is inevitably determined by the written forms in which philosophical ideas are expressed.
D) Philosophy, in general, is more intellectually difficult than are other scholarly disciplines.
And your guess is?
Sra
Nope.
Philosophy, in general, is more intellectually difficult than are other scholarly disciplines.
To answer this question, we can first analyze the passage provided. According to the passage, there are philosophers who view writing as an unfortunate necessity and believe that the words used in philosophical writing should be minimal and transparent.
Now let's analyze each answer choice to identify the assumption made by these philosophers:
A) Philosophy should entail the direct contemplation of thought, with as few mediating influences as possible.
This answer choice aligns with the idea that writing is seen as a mediating influence that should be minimized in philosophical thought. Therefore, it is a possible assumption made by the philosophers described in the passage.
B) Philosophy should be a means of personal expression as well as a vehicle for the communication of ideas.
This answer choice suggests that philosophy encompasses personal expression, which contradicts the idea that the words used should be minimal and transparent. Therefore, this is not a likely assumption made by the philosophers described.
C) Philosophy is inevitably determined by the written forms in which philosophical ideas are expressed.
This answer choice suggests that the written forms of philosophical ideas determine the nature of philosophy. However, the passage does not provide any indication that the philosophers believe in the inevitable determination of philosophy by written forms. Therefore, this is not a likely assumption made by the philosophers described.
D) Philosophy, in general, is more intellectually difficult than other scholarly disciplines.
This answer choice does not directly relate to the topic of the passage, which is about the minimal and transparent use of words in philosophical writing. Therefore, it is not a likely assumption made by the philosophers described.
Based on our analysis, the assumption made by the philosophers described in the passage is most closely represented by answer choice A) Philosophy should entail the direct contemplation of thought, with as few mediating influences as possible.