Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
this sense, one can think of literature less as some inherent quality or set of qualities displayed by certain kinds of writing all the way from Beowulf to Virginia Woolf, than as a number of ways in which people relate themselves to writing. It would not be easy to isolate, from all that has been variously called ‘literature, some constant set of inherent features. In fact, it would be as impossible as trying to identify the single distinguishing feature which all games have in common. There is no ‘essence’ of literature whatsoever. Any bit of writing may be read ‘non-pragmatically’, if that is what reading a text as literature means, just as any writing may be read ‘poetically. If I pore over the railway timetable not to discover a train connection but to stimulate in myself general reflections on the speed and complexity of modern existence, then I might be said to be reading it as literaturE) John M. Ellis has argued that the term ‘literature’ operates rather like the word ‘weed’: weeds are not particular kinds of plant, but just any kind of plant which for some reason or another a gardener does not want arounD) Perhaps ‘literature’ means something like the opposite: any kind of writing which for some reason or another somebody values highly. As the philosophers might say, ‘literature’ and ‘weed’ are functional rather than ontological terms: they tell us about what we do, not about the fixed being of things.
What is the meaning of the term “non-pragmatic” used in the passage?
Correct Answer :
Affective
Solution :
The correct option is Affective.
Step-by-step Explanation:
1. Analyze the Context: The passage states: "Any bit of writing may be read ‘non-pragmatically’, if that is what reading a text as literature means... If I pore over the railway timetable not to discover a train connection but to stimulate in myself general reflections on the speed and complexity of modern existence, then I might be said to be reading it as literature."
2. Define 'Pragmatic' vs. 'Non-Pragmatic': In reading, a "pragmatic" approach is goal-oriented, practical, and functional—such as reading a timetable simply to find a train connection. Therefore, reading "non-pragmatically" means reading without a purely functional or practical purpose.
3. Connect to 'Affective': Instead of looking for practical information, the reader who reads "non-pragmatically" does so to stimulate personal feelings, reflections, or aesthetic emotions. In psychology and literary theory, the term affective relates to moods, feelings, attitudes, and emotions. Thus, a non-pragmatic reading is an affective reading.
4. Evaluate Other Options:
- Practical is the direct synonym of pragmatic, so it is the opposite of "non-pragmatic".
- Scientific and Rational refer to objective, logical, and cognitive processes, which do not capture the subjective, reflective, and emotion-driven nature of reading literature as described in the passage.
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