From “Society and Solitude” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
2 It by no means follows that we are not fit for society, because soirées are tedious, and because the soirée finds us tedious. A backwoodsman, who had been sent to the university, told me that, when he heard the best-bred young men at the law school talk together, he reckoned himself a boor; but whenever he caught them apart, and had one to himself alone, then they were the boors, and he the better man. And if we recall the rare hours when we encountered the best persons, we then found ourselves, and then first society seemed to exist.
From Walden by Henry David Thoreau
2 The nation itself, with all its so-called internal improvements, which, by the way are all external and superficial, is just such an unwieldy and overgrown establishment, cluttered with furniture and tripped up by its own traps, ruined by luxury and heedless expense, by want of calculation and a worthy aim, as the million households in the land; and the only cure for it, as for them, is in a rigid economy, a stern and more than Spartan simplicity of life and elevation of purpose. It lives too fast. Men think that it is essential that the Nation have commerce, and export ice, and talk through a telegraph, and ride thirty miles an hour, without a doubt, whether they do or not; but whether we should live like baboons or like men, is a little uncertain.
Both passages evaluate the excesses of society. How do the authors’ claims in the passages differ?
Answer choices for the above question
A. Emerson claims that people are not fit for society, but Thoreau claims that society, even though it can be an unwieldy and overgrown establishment, improves the nation.
B. Emerson claims that even though society can be excessive, it does not mean that individuals are unfit for society, and Thoreau claims that the cure for the excesses of society is extreme simplicity.
C. Emerson claims that the luxuries in a society are available to everyone, even the backwoodsman, and Thoreau thinks that the excesses of society can be cured by being business-minded and paying closer attention to the national economy.
D. Emerson claims that even though society at large cares too much about excessive events like soirées, at universities, and especially law schools, you can find more thoughtful social interactions, while Thoreau claims that the nation can never really improve if it remains focused on materialism.
What type of reasoning does each author use to support his claim?
Answer choices for the above question
A. Emerson uses deductive reasoning, and Thoreau uses inductive reasoning.
B. Emerson and Thoreau both use deductive reasoning.
C. Emerson uses abductive reasoning, and Thoreau uses inductive reasoning.
D. Emerson uses inductive reasoning, and Thoreau uses abductive reasoning.
