How can we know what someone else is thinking or feeling, let alone prove it in court? In his 1863 book, A General View of the Criminal Law of England, James Fitzjames Stephen, among the most celebrated legal thinkers of his generation, was of the opinion that the assessment of a person’s mental state was an inference made with “little consciousness.” In a criminal case, jurors, doctors, and lawyers could watch defendants—scrutinizing clothing, mannerisms, tone of voice— but the best they could hope for were clues. . . . Rounding these clues up to a judgment about a defendant’s guilt, or a defendant’s life, was an act of empathy and imagination. . . . The closer the resemblance between defendants and their judges, the easier it was to overlook the gap that inference filled. Conversely, when a defendant struck officials as unlike themselves, whether by dint of disease, gender, confession, or race, the precariousness of judgments about mental state was exposed. In the nineteenth century, physicians who specialized in the study of madness and the care of the insane held themselves out as experts in the new field of mental science. Often called alienists or mad doctors, they were the predecessors of modern psychiatrists, neurologists, and psychologists. . . . The opinions of family and neighbors had once been sufficient to sift the sane from the insane, but a growing belief that insanity was a subtle condition that required expert, medical diagnosis pushed physicians into the witness box. . . . Lawyers for both prosecution and defense began to recruit alienists to assess defendants’ sanity and to testify to it in court.
Irresponsibility and insanity were not identical, however. Criminal responsibility was a legal concept and not, fundamentally, a medical one. Stephen explained: “The question ‘What are the mental elements of responsibility?’ is, and must be, a legal question. It cannot be anything else, for the meaning of responsibility is liability to punishment.” . . . Nonetheless, medical and legal accounts of what it meant to be mentally sound became entangled and mutually referential throughout the nineteenth century. Lawyers relied on medical knowledge to inform their opinions and arguments about the sanity of their clients. Doctors commented on the legal responsibility of their patients. Ultimately, the fields of criminal law and mental science were both invested in constructing an image of the broken and damaged psyche that could be contrasted with the whole and healthy one. This shared interest, and the shared space of the criminal courtroom, made it nearly impossible to consider responsibility without medicine, or insanity without law. . . .
Physicians and lawyers shared more than just concern for the mind. Class, race, and gender bound these middle-class, white, professional men together, as did family ties, patriotism, Protestantism, business ventures, the alumni networks of elite schools and universities, and structures of political patronage. But for all their affinities, men of medicine and law were divided by contests over the borders of criminal responsibility, as much within each profession as between them. Alienists steadily pushed the boundaries of their field, developing increasingly complex and capacious definitions of insanity. Eccentricity and aggression came to be classified as symptoms of mental disease, at least by some.
The last paragraph of the passage refers to “middle-class, white, professional men”. Which one of the following qualities best describes the connection among them?
Show Hint
- The borders of criminal responsibility.
- The opinions of family and neighbours.
- Eccentricity and aggression.
- Empathy and imagination.
The Correct Option is A
Approach Solution - 1
- The question asks about the qualities that connect "middle-class, white, professional men" as described in the last paragraph of the passage provided. To determine the best descriptor of the connection, we need to closely examine the context and the themes discussed in the paragraph.
- The passage discusses how, in the context of criminal law and mental health, various professionals (physicians and lawyers) were involved in defining and debating the borders of criminal responsibility. The paragraph mentions class, race, and gender as binding factors for these professional men alongside common interests like family ties and political structures.
- Among the given options:
- The borders of criminal responsibility: This option aligns well with the paragraph as it mentions "contests over the borders of criminal responsibility" among these professionals. It highlights the central theme of the passage, which revolves around the intersection of medicine and law regarding criminal responsibility.
- The opinions of family and neighbours: While these were historically relevant to assessing insanity, they are not the main focus of the paragraph concerning the connection among these men.
- Eccentricity and aggression: These are mentioned as symptoms classified by some professionals but are not highlighted as binding qualities among the men.
- Empathy and imagination: These are discussed in the context of jurors and judgments but not as connecting qualities among the middle-class, white, professional men.
- Therefore, the option that best describes the connection among "middle-class, white, professional men" as per the passage is "The borders of criminal responsibility." This option captures the essence of the division and collaboration between professionals from the legal and medical fields regarding the interpretation and enforcement of criminal responsibility.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Identify what the paragraph says binds these men together. & nbsp;
The passage states clearly that physicians and lawyers were connected through:
“Class, race, and gender bound these middle-class, white, professional men together, as did family ties, patriotism, Protestantism, business ventures, the alumni networks of elite schools and universities, and structures of political patronage.”
Thus, they are bound together by shared social identity and social networks.
Step 2: Evaluate the given answer options.
- Option (1): “The borders of criminal responsibility” — The passage says they were divided by contests over these borders, not united by them.
- Option (2): “The opinions of family and neighbours” — This refers to the earlier method of judging sanity, not what binds these men.
- Option (3): “Eccentricity and aggression” — These are traits some alienists labelled as insanity, not something shared by these professionals.
- Option (4): “Empathy and imagination” — These were traits needed for jurors to infer mental states, not what linked physicians and lawyers.
Step 3: Conclusion.
None of the choices accurately capture the qualities binding these men together.
If forced to choose, option (1) is the least incorrect because it refers to a key theme in the paragraph, although it actually reflects what divided them rather than what connected them.
According to the passage, who or what was an “alienist”?
Show Hint
- Professionals who pushed the boundaries of their fields till they became unrecognisable in the nineteenth century.
- Physicians who specialised in the study of madness and the care of the insane in the nineteenth century.
- Physicians and lawyers who were responsible for the condition of immigrants or ‘aliens’ in the nineteenth century.
- Physicians and lawyers who were responsible for examining accounts of extraterrestrials or ‘aliens’ in the nineteenth century.
The Correct Option is B
Approach Solution - 1
The question asks us to determine who or what was referred to as an "alienist" in the passage. To answer this question, we need to carefully analyze the passage and understand the context in which the term "alienist" is used.
According to the passage, in the nineteenth century, there was a group of physicians who specialized in the study and care of mental disorders. These physicians were referred to as "alienists" or "mad doctors." They were considered experts in the emerging field of mental science and played a significant role in both medical and legal contexts during that time. These alienists were the predecessors of modern psychiatrists, neurologists, and psychologists. The passage further explains that their expertise was sought in legal settings, particularly to assess defendants' sanity and testify in court.
Therefore, the correct answer, based on the information provided in the passage, is:
Physicians who specialised in the study of madness and the care of the insane in the nineteenth century.
Let's rule out the other options:
- Professionals who pushed the boundaries of their fields till they became unrecognizable in the nineteenth century: While the passage mentions that alienists pushed the boundaries to expand their definitions of insanity, it does not define alienists as professionals who made their fields unrecognizable.
- Physicians and lawyers who were responsible for the condition of immigrants or ‘aliens’ in the nineteenth century: The passage does not associate alienists with immigrants or 'aliens' but focuses on their role in mental science.
- Physicians and lawyers who were responsible for examining accounts of extraterrestrials or ‘aliens’ in the nineteenth century: There is no reference in the passage linking alienists to extraterrestrials or 'aliens'.
In conclusion, the passage clearly indicates that "alienists" were physicians specializing in mental health and the care of the insane during the nineteenth century, making the correct choice the second option.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Locate the definition in the passage. & nbsp;
The passage unambiguously states:
“Physicians who specialized in the study of madness and the care of the insane held themselves out as experts in the new field of mental science. Often called alienists or mad doctors, they were the predecessors of modern psychiatrists, neurologists, and psychologists.”
Step 2: Match this with the options.
- Option (2): Precisely matches the passage: alienists were physicians specializing in treating and studying insanity.
- Option (1): Misrepresents the idea: alienists expanded definitions of insanity, but this does not define the term.
- Option (3): Incorrectly treats “alienist” as related to immigrants; the passage never implies this.
- Option (4): Refers to extraterrestrials and is irrelevant.
Conclusion:
Thus, the correct answer is clearly Option (2).
Study the following sets of concepts and identify the set that is conceptually closest to the concerns and arguments of the passage.
Show Hint
- Empathy, Prosecution, Knowledge, Business.
- Judgement, Belief, Accounts, Patronage.
- Assessment, Empathy, Prosecution, Patriotism.
- Judgement, Insanity, Punishment, Responsibility.
The Correct Option is D
Approach Solution - 1
The question asks us to identify the set of concepts that is conceptually closest to the concerns and arguments presented in the passage. To solve this, we need to understand the main themes and concerns highlighted in the passage.
The passage discusses the intersection of law and mental health in the nineteenth century, focusing on how legal judgments about a defendant's sanity and responsibility became entwined with medical expertise. The passage highlights several key points:
- Judgment about a defendant's mental state involves empathy and imagination.
- The role of alienists (early psychiatrists) in assessing and testifying about insanity in court.
- The distinction and overlap between legal responsibility and medical diagnosis of insanity.
- The mutual influence between the fields of law and mental health.
- Class, race, and gender factors influenced both fields' professionals.
Among the given options, we need to select the set of concepts that most closely aligns with these themes.
- Empathy, Prosecution, Knowledge, Business: This set includes 'Empathy,' which is relevant, but 'Prosecution' and 'Business' do not directly relate to the central themes of judgment, responsibility, or insanity.
- Judgement, Belief, Accounts, Patronage: 'Judgement' is relevant, but 'Belief,' 'Accounts,' and 'Patronage' do not align strongly with the mental health and legal intersection discussed in the passage.
- Assessment, Empathy, Prosecution, Patriotism: While 'Assessment' and 'Empathy' are relevant, 'Prosecution' and 'Patriotism' are not central to the passage's argument about insanity and legal responsibility.
- Judgement, Insanity, Punishment, Responsibility: This set directly reflects core themes of the passage:
- 'Judgement' refers to the legal judgment of mental state and responsibility.
- 'Insanity' is central to the passage's discussion on mental health in legal contexts.
- 'Punishment' is linked to the concept of legal responsibility and liability.
- 'Responsibility' ties into the legal implications of mental state.
Thus, the set "Judgement, Insanity, Punishment, Responsibility" best encapsulates the primary concerns and arguments of the passage. Therefore, the correct answer is this set.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Identify the core themes of the passage. & nbsp;
The passage discusses:
- how courts judge mental states (judgement),
- the rise of alienists diagnosing insanity,
- the legal concept of criminal responsibility,
- the relationship between mental soundness and liability to punishment.
Thus, the central conceptual cluster involves judgement → insanity → punishment → responsibility.
Step 2: Check each option against these themes.
- Option (1): Contains “empathy” and “prosecution,” but “knowledge” and “business” are irrelevant. Not the closest conceptual match.
- Option (2): Mentions “patronage,” “belief,” and “accounts,” some of which appear in the text but not as central conceptual pillars.
- Option (3): Includes “patriotism” and “prosecution,” but these are peripheral references, not core concerns.
- Option (4): Contains all key ideas:
- Judgement — how courts infer mental state.
- Insanity — central to the rise of alienists.
- Punishment — tied to the legal definition of responsibility.
- Responsibility — the legal concept determining liability.
Conclusion:
Thus, the conceptually closest set is Option (4).
“Conversely, when a defendant struck officials as unlike themselves, whether by dint of disease, gender, confession, or race, the precariousness of judgments about mental state was exposed.”
Which one of the following best describes the use of the word “confession” in this sentence?
Show Hint
- Referring to the practice of ‘confession’ in some faiths, here it is a metaphor for the religion of the defendant.
- Referring to the gender, race or disease claimed as a defence by the defendant, here it is a synonym for ‘professing’ a gender, race, or disease.
- Referring to the defendant’s confession of his or her crime as false, because ‘dint’ is an archaic form of ‘didn’t’ or ‘did not’.
- The defendants struck out at the officials and then confessed to the act.
The Correct Option is A
Approach Solution - 1
The question is asking about the use of the word "confession" in the context of the given sentence. To determine the correct answer, we should first analyze the sentence's context and the options provided.
The sentence under consideration is: “Conversely, when a defendant struck officials as unlike themselves, whether by dint of disease, gender, confession, or race, the precariousness of judgments about mental state was exposed.”
- Understanding the context: The passage discusses the challenges faced in the legal and medical evaluation of a defendant's mental state in the nineteenth century. It explains how aspects like class, race, and gender influenced the perception of the defendant's mental condition. The key phrase is "whether by dint of disease, gender, confession, or race," which lists different factors that can make a defendant appear unlike the judges or officials.
- Analyzing each option:
- Option 1: Referring to the practice of ‘confession’ in some faiths, here it is a metaphor for the religion of the defendant.
This option interprets "confession" as a metaphor related to religious differences, which fits the context of the sentence. Religion is one of the aspects that can make the defendant appear different from the officials, thereby exposing the precariousness of judgments. - Option 2: Referring to the gender, race or disease claimed as a defence by the defendant, here it is a synonym for ‘professing’ a gender, race, or disease.
This does not align well since "confession" is not synonymous with gender, race, or disease. Confession refers more to religious contexts rather than as a general claim or profession of identity. - Option 3: Referring to the defendant’s confession of his or her crime as false, because ‘dint’ is an archaic form of ‘didn’t’ or ‘did not’.
This is factually incorrect. "Dint" in this context means "means" or "force" and is not a contraction of "did not." Furthermore, there is no indication that the confession refers to a false admission of crime. - Option 4: The defendants struck out at the officials and then confessed to the act.
This literal interpretation is misleading. The sentence describes attributes that make defendants seem unlike the officials, not a specific act of striking or confession.
- Option 1: Referring to the practice of ‘confession’ in some faiths, here it is a metaphor for the religion of the defendant.
- Conclusion: Option 1 is the correct choice as it correctly interprets "confession" in a manner consistent with the context, using it metaphorically to signify religious differences, which fits the theme of the passage.
Approach Solution -2
Step 1: Interpret “confession” in historical/legal context. & nbsp;
In nineteenth-century English usage, “confession” commonly meant religious denomination or faith tradition (e.g., Catholic confession, Protestant confession). Thus, “confession” here refers to religion, not the act of confessing a crime.
Step 2: Evaluate the options.
- Option (1) correctly states that "confession" refers metaphorically to the religious affiliation of the defendant. ✔️
- Option (2) incorrectly generalizes “confession” to gender, race, or disease; this misreads the syntax of the sentence.
- Option (3) completely misinterprets both “confession” and “dint”—“dint” means because of or by means of, not “didn’t.”
- Option (4) proposes a meaning unrelated to the sentence structure or historical usage.
Conclusion:
Thus, the correct interpretation is clearly Option (1).
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are letters ‘e’ taken from four popular logos, arranged in a sequence. Which of the options is the correct sequence?
- UCEED - 2026
- English Language Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Shown below are four options, each showing consecutive frames representing the movement of a pendulum of an old-style wall clock for an animation movie. Which is the correct option?
- UCEED - 2026
- English Language Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Acrucial moderating factor in how people experience comparisons is self-esteem. Individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to interpret upward comparison as informative rather than threatening. They are more resilient in the face of others’ success and more likely to believe they can reach their own goals. In contrast, people with low self-esteem are more prone to interpret comparison as judgment, reinforcing negative self-views and triggering feelings of inadequacy.
This dynamic creates a self-reinforcing loop. People with high self-esteem are less vulnerable to upward comparison, which intensifies those doubts. Those with a secure sense of self are more likely to use comparison as a learning tool. The same external stimulus—a colleague’s achievements, a friend’s popularity—can have radically different effects depending on internal stability.
Self-esteem also influences how people choose their comparison targets. Research has found that individuals often engage in “selective comparison,” seeking out those who confirm their existing beliefs about themselves. This can become a subtle form of self-sabotage. Someone who feels unworthy may subconsciously seek out targets that reinforce that sense, perpetuating a narrative of inferiority. One of the most promising antidotes to social comparison is temporal comparison—evaluating oneself not against others, but against one’s own past. This method has been shown to increase motivation and satisfaction, especially when individuals can see concrete progress. Temporal comparison activates the same reward circuits as social comparison but avoids the threat systems associated with social ranking. It also reinforces agency: individuals focus on what they can control and improve rather than what others control. In therapeutic and coaching settings, temporal comparison is used to help clients build self-efficacy and track growth over time.
Moreover, people who focus on self-improvement rather than social dominance are less likely to fall into cycles of envy or self-pity. They can still use others as inspiration, but they do so without attaching their self-worth to the outcome. This is not to say they never compare—but that they focus on learning, rather than judgment. The most skilful approach to comparison may lie in eliminating it, but in reframing it as feedback. When we interpret comparison as information rather than a verdict, we can ask, “What can I learn from this?” This shift turns comparison into a growth tool. Teachers mentor their students, not as rivals. Psychologists emphasize that the key variable here is mindset.
A fixed mindset sees comparison as a threat. If someone else is better, it means we are worse. A growth mindset sees comparison as a map. If someone else has reached a certain level, it means the path exists. This reframing is not just a cognitive trick. It changes the emotional tone of comparison, making it more likely to inspire than to wound. Reframing also requires emotional regulation—the ability to notice an initial pang of envy or shame without reacting impulsively. With practice, individuals can learn to pause, reflect, and reinterpret their emotional responses. Over time, this builds resilience and self-trust, allowing comparison to become a learning tool rather than a cage.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
When people who are talking don’t share the same culture, knowledge, values, and assumptions, mutual understanding can be especially difficult. Such understanding is possible through the negotiation of meaning. To negotiate meaning with someone, you have to become aware of and respect both the differences in your backgrounds and when these differences are important. You need enough diversity of cultural and personal experience to be aware that divergent world views exist and what they might be like. You also need the flexibility in world view, and a generous tolerance for mistakes, as well as a talent for finding the right metaphor to communicate the relevant parts of unshared experiences or to highlight the shared experiences while demphasizing the others. Metaphorical imagination is a crucial skill in creating rapport and in communicating the nature of unshared experience. This skill consists, in large measure, of the ability to bend your world view and adjust the way you categorize your experiences. Problems of mutual understanding are not exotic; they arise in all extended conversations where understanding is important.
When it really counts, meaning is almost never communicated according to the CONDUIT metaphor, that is, where one person transmits a fixed, clear proposition to another by means of expressions in a common language, where both parties have all the relevant common knowledge, assumptions, values, etc. When the chips are down, meaning is negotiated: you slowly figure out what you have in common, what it is safe to talk about, how you can communicate unshared experience or create a shared vision. With enough flexibility in bending your world view and with luck and charity, you may achieve some mutual understanding.
Communication theories based on the CONDUIT metaphor turn from the pathetic to the evil when they are applied indiscriminately on a large scale, say, in government surveillance or computerized files. There, what is most crucial for real understanding is almost never included, and it is assumed that the words in the file have meaning in themselves—disembodied, objective, understandable meaning. When a society lives by the CONDUITmetaphor on a large scale, misunderstanding, persecution, and much worse are the likely products.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Later, I realized that reviewing the history of nuclear physics served another purpose as well: It gave the lie to the naive belief that the physicists could have come together when nuclear fission was discovered (in Nazi Germany!) and agreed to keep the discovery a secret, thereby sparing humanity such a burden. No. Given the development of nuclear physics up to 1938, development that physicists throughout the world pursued in all innocence of any intention of finding the engine of a new weapon of mass destruction—only one of them, the remarkable Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard, took that possibility seriously—the discovery of nuclear fission was inevitable. To stop it, you would have had to stop physics. If German scientists hadn’t made the discovery when they did, French, American, Russian, Italian, or Danish scientists would have done so, almost certainly within days or weeks. They were all working at the same cutting edge, trying to understand the strange results of a simple experiment bombarding uranium with neutrons. Here was no Faustian bargain, as movie directors and other naifs still find it intellectually challenging to imagine. Here was no evil machinery that the noble scientists might hide from the problems and the generals. To the contrary, there was a high insight into how the world works, an energetic reaction, older than the earth, that science had finally devised the instruments and arrangements to coart forth. “Make it seem inevitable,” Louis Pasteur used to advise his students when they prepared to write up their discoveries. But it was. To wish that it might have been ignored or suppressed is barbarous. “Knowledge,” Niels Bohr once noted, “is itself the basis for civilization.” You cannot have the one without the other; the one depends upon the other. Nor can you have only benevolent knowledge; the scientific method doesn’t filter for benevolence. Knowledge has consequences, not always intended, not always comfortable, but always welcome. The earth revolves around the sun, not the sun around the earth. “It is a profound and necessary truth,” Robert Oppenheimer would say, “that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they are found because it was possible to find them.”
...Bohr proposed once that the goal of science is not universal truth. Rather, he argued, the modest but relentless goal of science is “the gradual removal of prejudices.” The discovery that the earth revolves around the sun has gradually removed the prejudice that the earth is the center of the universe. The discovery of microbes is gradually removing the prejudice that disease is a punishment from God. The discovery of evolution is gradually removing the prejudice that Homo sapiens is a separate and special creation.- XAT - 2026
- Verbal and Logical Ability
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in CAT exam
- The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
In the dynamic realm of creativity, artists often find themselves at the crossroads between drawing inspiration from diverse cultures and inadvertently crossing into the territory of cultural appropriation. Inspiration is the lifeblood of creativity, driving artists to create works that resonate across borders. In a globalized era of the modern world, artists draw from a vast array of cultural influences. When approached respectfully, inspiration becomes a bridge, fostering understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity. However, the line between inspiration and cultural appropriation can be thin and easily blurred.
Cultural appropriation occurs when elements from a particular culture are borrowed without proper understanding, respect, or acknowledgment. This leads to the commodification of sacred symbols, the reinforcement of stereotypes, and the erasure of the cultural context from which these elements originated. It is essential to recognize that the impact of cultural appropriation extends beyond the realm of artistic expression, influencing societal perceptions and perpetuating power imbalances.- CAT - 2025
- Para Summary
- The number of distinct integers $n$ for which $\log_{\left(\frac14\right)}(n^2 - 7n + 11)>0$ is:
- CAT - 2025
- Linear Inequalities
- In the set of consecutive odd numbers $\{1, 3, 5, \ldots, 57\}$, there is a number $k$ such that the sum of all the elements less than $k$ is equal to the sum of all the elements greater than $k$. Then, $k$ equals?
- CAT - 2025
- Number Systems
- The number of distinct pairs of integers $(x, y)$ satisfying the inequalities $x>y \ge 3$ and $x + y<14$ is:
- CAT - 2025
- Number Systems
For any natural number $k$, let $a_k = 3^k$. The smallest natural number $m$ for which \[ (a_1)^1 \times (a_2)^2 \times \dots \times (a_{20})^{20} \;<\; a_{21} \times a_{22} \times \dots \times a_{20+m} \] is:
- CAT - 2025
- Linear Inequalities