Difficulty: Hard
Correct Answer: if only argument I is strong
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
A Statement–Argument problem asks which argument is “strong,” i.e., specific, relevant, and policy-informative. The prompt concerns a uniform civil code (UCC) and whether adopting it would remedy injustices embedded in personal laws, particularly for women.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
In this genre, a strong argument must directly evaluate outcomes of the proposal—rights, fairness, feasibility, and public interest. Rights-based repair of systemic inequity is a substantive criterion. Vague caution about culture, without showing how the UCC necessarily harms social cohesion or why reforms cannot respect diversity while ensuring equality, is weak.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify the core policy target: remedying unjust outcomes consistently across citizens.Check Argument I: It links the UCC to the correction of specific, persistent inequities—high relevance and concrete benefit.Check Argument II: It rests largely on an unspecified fear that uniformity erodes culture; it does not show that equality and cultural practices cannot coexist or that safeguards cannot be drafted.
Verification / Alternative check:
A strong “No” would need to show better alternatives (e.g., codifying equality within each personal law with enforceable safeguards) or prove that a UCC structurally creates net harm. Argument II does not do this, so it is weak.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Choosing II alone or “either/neither” misjudges strength: I is precise and outcome-focused; II is speculative.
Common Pitfalls:
Equating cultural pluralism with legal inequality; assuming reform must erase diversity rather than constrain injustice.
Final Answer:
if only argument I is strong.
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