Question

Impressions are direct, vivid, and forceful products of immediate experience; ideas are merely feeble copies of these original impressions.
Assuming the above statement is true, which of the statements logically follow from it?
I. Every impression leads to an idea.
II. Ideas must follow an antecedent impression.
III. The colour of the 2011 XAT test booklet right in front of a candidate is an impression to her, whereas the memory of the colour of her television set is an idea.
IV. If one was interested in origin of the idea of the colour of a television set, then one need to understand the impressions from which this idea was derived.

• A. I & III
• B. II & III
• C. I & IV
• D. II, III & IV
• E. I, II, III & IV

Hint:

In logic-based RC questions, eliminate options that over-generalize (like “every” or “always”), as they usually distort the author’s nuanced claim.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Revisit the core statement.
The passage says: - Impressions = vivid, direct, immediate experience. - Ideas = weak copies of impressions.

Step 2: Check each statement.
-

I. Every impression leads to an idea. ✗ This is too extreme. Not every impression must lead to an idea. The passage only says ideas come from impressions, not that every impression must yield an idea. -

II. Ideas must follow an antecedent impression. ✓ Correct, since ideas are weak copies of impressions, so impressions must precede ideas. -

III. Colour of the test booklet is an impression; memory of a TV colour is an idea. ✓ This perfectly illustrates the difference between vivid experience (impression) and weak copy (idea). -

IV. To know origin of an idea, we must study the impression behind it. ✓ Logically valid: since ideas derive from impressions, understanding impressions explains the origin of ideas.

Step 3: Conclude.
Statements II, III, and IV follow logically. Statement I is invalid due to its extreme nature. \[ \boxed{\text{II, III & IV (D)}} \]