We need to find what the common-sense view includes, then spot the option that doesn't fit. The passage clearly outlines the common-sense view: facts first, then conclusions. History = collection of established facts from documents and inscriptions. Facts exist objectively, independent of historian's interpretation. From passage: "First ascertain the facts, said the positivists, then draw your conclusions from them. This is what may be called the common-sense view of history." From passage: "The belief in a hard core of historical facts existing objectively and independently of the interpretation of the historian is a preposterous fallacy" The author calls this view a "fallacy" -> so he disagrees with common-sense view -> author has his own different view.

🟠 Option 1 -> fits common-sense view -> says history can be objective like science through facts (exactly what positivists wanted) 🟠 Option 2 -> fits common-sense view -> mentions documents/inscriptions as source of "real history" (passage says facts available in "documents, inscriptions, and so on") 🟢 Option 3 -> author's view, not common-sense view -> "selective system" quote comes from author criticizing common-sense view. Author says historian is "necessarily selective" - opposite of common-sense belief in objective facts 🟠 Option 4 -> fits common-sense view -> positivists wanted history as science, this supports only their methods

Key confusion: Students might think Option 3 sounds scientific, so it must be common-sense view. But the "selective" part is the author's criticism of common-sense view. Common-sense view believes facts are objective and universal, not selective. Author's view -> history is selective Common-sense view -> history is objective facts Option 3 describes what the author thinks, not what common-sense believers think.

CAT (VARC) PYQs

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