UPSC Prelims 2017 CSAT Paper II · Q10 of 79 Comprehension medium

Passage

Directions for the following 2 (two) items : Consider the given information and answer the two items that follow. No supporters of 'party X', who knew Z and supported his campaign strategy, agreed for the alliance with 'party Y'; but some of them had friends in 'party Y'.

With reference to the above information, consider the following statements : 1. Some supporters of 'party X' knew Z. 2. Some supporters of 'party X', who opposed Z's campaign strategy, knew Z. 3. No supporters of 'party X' supported Z's campaign strategy. Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 3 only ✓ UPSC's answer
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3

Why the answer is (c)

• The statement 'No supporters of 'party X', who knew Z and supported his campaign strategy, agreed for the alliance with 'party Y'' implies that there exists a group of supporters of 'party X' who both knew Z and supported his campaign strategy (otherwise the condition would be vacuous or undefined in this logical context).

• Since such supporters exist, Statement 1 ('Some supporters of 'party X' knew Z') is correct because the subset who knew Z and supported the strategy is non-empty.

• Statement 3 ('No supporters of 'party X' supported Z's campaign strategy') is incorrect because we have established that some supporters did support the strategy.

• Statement 2 ('Some supporters of 'party X', who opposed Z's campaign strategy, knew Z') cannot be inferred from the given information; the text only specifies the behavior of those who supported the strategy, not those who opposed it.

• However, the question asks which statements are NOT correct. Statement 1 is correct. Statement 3 is definitely incorrect. Statement 2 is not necessarily correct (it is an assumption not supported by the text), but in UPSC CSAT logic, 'not correct' usually refers to statements that are demonstrably false or logically invalid based on the premises. Let's re-evaluate standard interpretation: The premise establishes the existence of X supporters who knew Z and supported the strategy. Thus, 'Some X supporters knew Z' is True. 'No X supporters supported the strategy' is False. 'Some X supporters who opposed the strategy knew Z' is not derivable, but is it 'incorrect'? In these questions, if a statement is not necessarily true, it is often considered 'not correct' in the context of 'which of the following is/are not correct' if it asserts a fact not in evidence. However, looking at the options: (c) says only 3 is not correct. This implies 1 and 2 are considered correct or at least not 'incorrect'. Wait, if 2 is not derivable, is it 'incorrect'? Usually, 'not correct' means 'false'. Statement 2 is not necessarily false, just not proven. Statement 3 is necessarily false. Statement 1 is necessarily true. Therefore, only Statement 3 is 'not correct' (i.e., false). Statement 2 is a possibility, not a falsehood. Thus, only 3 is incorrect.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) 1 only
Statement 1 is correct because the existence of supporters who knew Z and supported the strategy implies that some supporters knew Z.
(b) 2 and 3 only
Statement 2 is not necessarily false, and Statement 1 is correct, so this option is invalid.
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Statements 1 and 2 are not demonstrably false, so they are not 'not correct' in the sense of being logically invalid or contradictory to the premise.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

Practise this paper free