Based on the excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics, what …

English Questions
Short Answer
Step by Step Solution
English Questions

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics. There is a tale, “The Ring of Gyges,” that Feldman sometimes tells his economist friends. It comes from Plato’s Republic. A student named Glaucon offered the story in response to a lesson by Socrates—who, like Adam Smith, argued that people are generally good even without enforcement. Glaucon, like Feldman’s economist friends, disagreed. He told of a shepherd named Gyges who stumbled upon a secret cavern with a corpse inside that wore a ring. When Gyges put on the ring, he found that it made him invisible. With no one able to monitor his behavior, Gyges proceeded to do woeful things—seduce the queen, murder the king, and so on. Glaucon’s story posed a moral question: could any man resist the temptation of evil if he knew his acts could not be witnessed? Glaucon seemed to think the answer was no. But Paul Feldman sides with Socrates and Adam Smith—for he knows the answer, at least 87 percent of the time, is yes. Feldman reaches the conclusion that most people are honest without receiving an incentive by making a claim about his individual experiences and looking for evidence. making a broad generalization about morality and looking for evidence. studying his individual experiences and arriving at a broad generalization. studying a counterclaim about morality and arriving at a broad generalization.

Short Answer

Broad generalizations simplify complex realities by applying a characteristic to large groups, often ignoring exceptions, as seen in Feldman’s conclusion about human honesty. While they can offer insights, they risk oversimplifying behaviors and overlooking important nuances, as individual experiences may not represent the larger population accurately.

Step-by-Step Solution

Step 1: Understanding Broad Generalizations

A broad generalization is a statement that claims a characteristic applies to a large group of people or situations. It simplifies complex realities into a single idea, often ignoring exceptions. For example, saying “all dogs are friendly” is a broad generalization because it doesn’t consider that some dogs may be aggressive.

Step 2: Feldman’s Conclusion

Feldman concludes that most people are honest without incentives based on his own personal experiences. He analyzes various interactions and forms a general belief from these instances. This approach often leads to broad generalizations, as it lacks comprehensive evidence from a larger population.

Step 3: Risks of Over-Generalization

While broad generalizations can provide insights, they also risk oversimplifying complex human behaviors. Important nuances and exceptions may be overlooked. For effective conclusions, it’s crucial to recognize that individual experiences can be misleading when generalized across a whole group.

Related Concepts

Broad Generalization

A statement that claims a characteristic applies to a large group, simplifying complexities and often ignoring exceptions

Feldman’S Conclusion

The belief formed by analyzing personal experiences leading to a general assertion about honesty without comprehensive evidence

Over-Generalization

The risk of oversimplifying complex behaviors by making broad claims that overlook important nuances and exceptions.

Table Of Contents
  1. Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner’s Freakonomics. There is a tale, “The Ring of Gyges,” that Feldman sometimes tells his economist friends. It comes from Plato’s Republic. A student named Glaucon offered the story in response to a lesson by Socrates—who, like Adam Smith, argued that people are generally good even without enforcement. Glaucon, like Feldman’s economist friends, disagreed. He told of a shepherd named Gyges who stumbled upon a secret cavern with a corpse inside that wore a ring. When Gyges put on the ring, he found that it made him invisible. With no one able to monitor his behavior, Gyges proceeded to do woeful things—seduce the queen, murder the king, and so on. Glaucon’s story posed a moral question: could any man resist the temptation of evil if he knew his acts could not be witnessed? Glaucon seemed to think the answer was no. But Paul Feldman sides with Socrates and Adam Smith—for he knows the answer, at least 87 percent of the time, is yes. Feldman reaches the conclusion that most people are honest without receiving an incentive by making a claim about his individual experiences and looking for evidence. making a broad generalization about morality and looking for evidence. studying his individual experiences and arriving at a broad generalization. studying a counterclaim about morality and arriving at a broad generalization.

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