In this sentence ordering problem about mental and bodily phenomena, choose the correct order of the labelled parts X, Y, and Z to make a coherent sentence beginning "But this does not mean".

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: ZXY

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Here you are asked to arrange labelled fragments into a single coherent philosophical sentence. The base clause begins with "But this does not mean" and deals with the relationship between mental phenomena and the body. Sentence ordering questions of this type test your ability to track meaning across segments and to recognise the only arrangement that yields a natural and logically consistent statement.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The introductory part is "But this does not mean".
  • The fragments are labelled X, Y, and Z and roughly correspond to "phenomena to the body", "is a meaningless expression", and "that the reference of mental".
  • We want a complete sentence expressing that some conclusion about mental and bodily phenomena is not correct.
  • A natural conceptual statement here is "But this does not mean that the reference of mental phenomena to the body is a meaningless expression."


Concept / Approach:
The easiest way to tackle this item is to first reconstruct the likely target sentence in plain English. The theme suggests that the statement will deny that talking about mental phenomena in relation to the body is meaningless. Once this rough sentence is in mind, you match each phrase to its appropriate position in that sentence. The conjunction "that" will normally introduce a noun clause, which then will be followed by a subject and eventually a verb phrase like "is a meaningless expression".


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Imagine a complete sentence: "But this does not mean that the reference of mental phenomena to the body is a meaningless expression."Step 2: Identify the first fragment after "mean". It should start with "that the reference of mental", which is label Z.Step 3: Immediately after that we expect to describe what reference this is: "phenomena to the body", which is label X.Step 4: Finally, we need the main verb phrase "is a meaningless expression", which is label Y.Step 5: Putting these together produces the order Z X Y, or ZXY, which reads smoothly and expresses a meaningful philosophical idea.


Verification / Alternative check:
If you try YZX, you would get something like "But this does not mean is a meaningless expression that the reference of mental phenomena to the body", which is clearly ungrammatical. YXZ or XZY similarly break the necessary order of subject and verb within the clause introduced by "that". The only arrangement where "that the reference of mental phenomena to the body is a meaningless expression" appears correctly is ZXY, which confirms it as the correct answer.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • Option A YZX begins with a verb phrase "is a meaningless expression" and then tries to attach the subject fragments after it, which breaks normal English word order.
  • Option C YXZ causes the same problem and does not allow the sentence to flow logically from clause to verb.
  • Option D XZY would start "that phenomena to the body" without clearly linking to "mental", and again places "is a meaningless expression" in the wrong position.


Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes focus only on the literal strings without considering the deeper logical meaning. In abstract topics like mental and bodily phenomena, this can make every arrangement seem similar. A better method is to look for structural clues, such as where a clause beginning with "that" must start, and where the verb phrase expressing judgement, such as "is a meaningless expression", must appear. This structural awareness makes such questions much easier.


Final Answer:
The most logical and grammatical order of the fragments is ZXY, which produces the sentence "But this does not mean that the reference of mental phenomena to the body is a meaningless expression."

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