2015 CSAT, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2015 · CSAT

Question 19: Logical Reasoning and Mental Ability

Geeta : Naresh has become a better boxer since he started meditation. Radha : Impossible. A boxer’s most important asset is his aggressiveness. Radha’s statement reflects her belief that

ameditation tends to make a person less aggressive.
bmeditation has little or no effect on the person who practises it.
cNaresh was a poor boxer earlier because he was not aggressive enough.
dNaresh would not have taken to meditation as he was a boxer.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (a).

Radha rejects the claim that meditation made the boxer better by saying aggressiveness is a boxer's key asset. That reply works only if she assumes meditation reduces aggressiveness, so it would make a boxer worse, not better. She is not saying meditation has no effect, and she is not commenting on how good Naresh was before. To find the belief behind a reply, ask what must be true for her objection to carry any force.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Right: the objection works only if meditation lowers aggressiveness.
  • (b) Wrong: Radha thinks it has an effect, a bad one on a boxer's key asset.
  • (c) Wrong: she does not discuss his earlier ability or the reasons for it.
  • (d) Wrong: she doubts the improvement, not whether he would choose meditation.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2015, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.