Question

Read the following exchange between two poets and answer the question below.

Poet 1:
I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations...
and you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you...
and I am I.
And if, by chance, we find each other...
it's beautiful.
If not, it can't be helped.

Poet 2:
If I just do my thing and you do yours.
We stand in danger of losing each other
And ourselves.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations;
But I am in this world to confirm you
as a unique human being.
And to be confirmed by you.
We are fully ourselves only in relation to each other;
The I detached from Thou
Disintegrates.
I do not find you by chance;
I find you by an active life
of reaching out.
Rather than passively letting things happen to me,
I can act intentionally to make them happen.
I must begin within myself, true;
But I must not end with myself:
The truth begins with two.

Amongst the perspectives listed below, which one would extend Poet 2's argument the most?

• A. Human beings these days primarily conceive of themselves as isolated individual selves.
• B. Self-exploration is considered the most important pre-occupation by educated individuals.
• C. One's active stance towards life does not change fate.
• D. Society incorporates multiple simultaneous relationships.

Hint:

Poet 2's argument is that we become ourselves only through relationships and should actively seek connection. Find the option that builds on this, not one that contradicts or just restates the problem.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
Poet 2's central claim has two parts: first, a person is only fully themselves through relationships with others (isolation leads to "disintegration"), and second, connection must be actively and intentionally sought, not left to chance. We need the option that extends this argument, meaning it should build further on the same claim in a way that is consistent with it, not one that merely restates a problem or opposes it.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Check each option against Poet 2's two claims (we need others to be fully ourselves; we should actively seek connection) and keep only the one that adds to, rather than contradicts or sidesteps, those claims.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Option 1 says people today mostly see themselves as isolated individuals. This describes a current problem rather than extending Poet 2's argument; it is closer to the situation Poet 2 is arguing against than a further development of Poet 2's own claim.
Option 2 says educated people treat self-exploration as their top concern. This actually leans the opposite way from Poet 2, since Poet 2 stresses looking outward, towards others, not inward, towards the self alone, so this weakens rather than extends the argument.
Option 3 says an active stance towards life does not change fate. Poet 2 explicitly says the opposite, "I can act intentionally to make them happen," meaning active effort does change outcomes, so option 3 directly contradicts Poet 2 and cannot extend the argument.
Option 4 says society is made up of many relationships happening at once. This directly supports and builds on Poet 2's claim that we are fundamentally relational beings, existing only "in relation to each other." If society itself is structured as a web of many simultaneous relationships, that reinforces and extends Poet 2's view that connection with others is central to who we are, rather than optional.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Since option 4 reinforces Poet 2's claim that we exist and complete ourselves through relationships, it extends Poet 2's argument the most.