Read the passage and answer the question given below: Alternatives are not…
2023
Read the passage and answer the question given below:
Alternatives are not lacking in the world. What is indeed missing is an alternative thinking of alternatives. Whenever it is said that there are very interesting things happening in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the Western answer is that developed countries do not have the same problems. As such, the West does not need their kinds of solutions. There are two inferences from this: First, the understanding of the world is much broader than the Western understanding of the world. This means that the progressive transformation of the world may also occur in ways not foreseen by Western thinking. It includes critical Western thinking. Second, the diversity of the world is infinite. It is a diversity that encompasses very distinct modes of being, thinking and feeling; ways of conceiving of time and the relations among human beings and between humans and non-humans; ways of facing the past and the future and of collectively organizing life, the production of goods and services, as well as leisure. This immensity of alternatives of life, comforts and interaction with the world is largely wasted because the theories and concepts developed in the global North and employed in the entire academic world do not identify such alternatives. When they do, they do not valorize them as being valid contributions towards constructing a better society. The knowledge of the South is dubbed as outmoded and considered as no knowledge at all.
The author of the passage
Answer: B. favors the recognition of alternative thinking and solutions. — Concept: An author’s attitude is inferred from evaluative language: what the writer praises, criticizes, or asks readers to recognize. The best choice must…
- A.
is critical of alternative thinking.
- B.
favors the recognition of alternative thinking and solutions.
- C.
emphasizes the adoption of Western concepts.
- D.
suggests uniformity of problems and solutions.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: An author’s attitude is inferred from evaluative language: what the writer praises, criticizes, or asks readers to recognize. The best choice must capture the passage’s overall position, not isolate one sentence.
Application
The passage says that the world contains infinite diversity and that theories from the global North often fail to identify or value Southern ways of knowing. It presents those overlooked alternatives as valid contributions to a better society. Therefore, the author’s stance supports recognizing alternative thinking and solutions.
Contrast
Being critical of alternative thinking reverses the target of criticism: the passage criticizes frameworks that dismiss alternatives.
Adopting Western concepts conflicts with the argument that Western understanding is narrower than the world’s diversity.
Uniform problems and solutions conflict with the passage’s emphasis on distinct modes of life and thought.
Cross-check
If the author opposed alternatives or favored uniform Western solutions, the repeated appeals to diversity and recognition would be contradictory. The consistent reading is support for recognizing alternative thinking and solutions.
Result
The author favors the recognition of alternative thinking and solutions.