Q20

[jasonleb1]

They want the meaning of the term "forces of persuasion" as used in line 32. What's wrong with A? Is intentionally dishonest too strong?

Also, for E (the correct answer), are we supposed to relate "instinctive judgements" as mentioned in the passage with "influences... unrecognized by those affected by them" in the answer choice? Is that why it's right?

I was torn between A and E and wound up going with A.

[asafezrati]

I'm not sure about this either.
Can anyone clear this up? A,C,E all look attractive.

[tmsjg]

Think like this way,

(line 31~)
in order to seperate our real needs from the alleged false needs, the "forces of persuasion(FOP)" must be eliminated.

So, this "FOP" is something that keeps people from being aware the truth and (line 29~)so prevalent in society that they have come to inform our instinctive judgements about things.

(line 30~)
We feel the false needs as a result of the manipulation of advertisers.

Then, what is the "FOP" that prevent people from distingushing the real needs from the false needs?

(E)?
manipulative influence that Marcusians say go unrecognized by those affected by them.

(A)?
intentionally dishonest claims~

or

(C)
emotional pressure that society as a whole exerts over individuals?

I think (A) is attractive, but it's meaning is much broader than (E) and the "claim itself" is not the "FOP" that is necessary to be eliminated.

According to Marcusians, the "FOP" touches our "instinctive judgements", so we cannot recognize it.

Given that this question wants the "most pertinent" answer, (E) is correct.

I hope this would be helpful

[ohthatpatrick]

Awesome response.

I would echo the prephrase of
"forces of persuasion" = the cultural effects of mass advertising

(A) intentionally dishonest is too strong ... "manipulative" is okay ... dishonest sounds like we're making false claims ... instead, the ad agency tries to harness our primal needs/desires and point them towards a product.

(B) "innate drives" is not a good match for "the cultural effects of mass advertising"

(C) "society" is not the source of these forces. The world of advertising is.

(D) the "state" is not the source of these forces. Advertising is.

(E) "manipulative influences" is definitely safer than "intentionally dishonest claims", as a match for "the cultural effects of mass advertising.

Did some theorists say that the forces of advertising go UNRECOGNIZED? Yes, lines 28-31 are saying that we can no longer distinguish between REAL, instinctive needs, and FALSE, acquired-needs from the world of advertising.

If we can't differentiate between the two, then we are clearly not consciously aware of which needs are the result of advertising's manipulative influence.

[ZarkaS555]

I'm not sure I understand why C is incorrect. I was caught between C and E.

The author says that in order for us to separate our alleged real needs from our false needs, it would "be necessary to eliminate forces of persuasion that are so prevalent in society that they have come to inform our instinctive judgments about things." (emphasis added)

To me, it seemed like C, in its mention of society and its power over the individual, was closest to being a "force of persuasion that is prevalent in society".

How could I have corrected my thought patterns here?

[ohthatpatrick]

Something that is prevalent in society is not necessarily something that is created by society as a whole.

Smartphones are prevalent in society, but they're not created by society as a whole. They're created largely by Apple and Samsung.

Causal verbs like "created by" are pretty strong accusations. We'd need to ask ourself is Marcusians blame the effect of advertising on society as a whole. The thrust of the passage, though, is that ADVERTISERS have spread these reality-distoring messages, throughout society.