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GATE 2023 XH2 (English) – Question 24

Reasoning and Comprehension · Verbal reasoning and comprehension · 2 marks · Multiple select

“I told you the truth,” I say yet again, “Memory’s truth, because memory has its own special kind. It selects, eliminates, alters, exaggerates, minimizes, glorifies, and vilifies also; but in the end it creates its own reality, its heterogeneous but usually coherent versions of events; and no sane human being ever trusts someone else’s version more than his own.”

What are the different ways in which ‘truth’ can be understood from the passage?

  1. Truth is what can be verified by hard empirical evidence.
  2. Truth is based on what can be perceived by the senses.
  3. Truth is the product of memory that is fallible, selective and slanted.
  4. Truth is contingent on the observer and can only be partial.

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Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (C) Truth is the product of memory that is fallible, selective and slanted.; (D) Truth is contingent on the observer and can only be partial.

Explanation

The speaker speaks of “memory's truth”, which selects, alters and exaggerates (C), and which differs from person to person, so truth depends on the observer and is partial (D). Verifiable evidence and sense perception are not what the passage means by truth.