MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 111: Answer and Explanation
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Question: 111
5. A reasonable supposition from passage information about Smith and de Mandeville is that they agreed that:
- A. individual motivation can provide a benefit to society.
- B. benevolence is the only virtue.
- C. a naturalist theory of morals would prove the most accurate.
- D. economics is a science.
Correct Answer: A
Explanation:
A This is an Inference question.
A: Yes. As we can see in paragraph 2, they both believe that "personal self-interest is the best regulator of public affairs."
B: No. This is Hutchenson's idea, not de Mandeville's. Also, we know from paragraph 1 that Smith does not agree with this idea, because his work is based on a modification of it.
C: No. We are not told how de Mandeville (mentioned only in paragraph 2) would feel about such a statement.
D: No. According to the passage, it was Smith who "introduced science into the study of economics" (paragraph 6); we have no way of knowing whether de Mandeville would agree or not.