Question:
The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Read the sentences and decide on the correct order for the paragraph.
1. So too it is impossible for there to be any propositions of ethics. Propositions can express nothing that is higher.
2. The sense of the world must lie outside the world. In the world everything is as it is, and everything happens as it does happen: in it no value exists, and if it did exist it would have no value. If there is any value that does have value, it must lie outside the whole sphere of what happens and is the case. For all that happens and is the case is accidental. What makes it non-accidental cannot lie within the world, since if it did it would itself be accidental. It must lie outside the world.
3. It is clear that ethics cannot be put into words. Ethics is transcendental.
4. All propositions are of equal value.
Which of the following is the correct order?
The four sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4) given below, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Read the sentences and decide on the correct order for the paragraph.
1. So too it is impossible for there to be any propositions of ethics. Propositions can express nothing that is higher.
2. The sense of the world must lie outside the world. In the world everything is as it is, and everything happens as it does happen: in it no value exists, and if it did exist it would have no value. If there is any value that does have value, it must lie outside the whole sphere of what happens and is the case. For all that happens and is the case is accidental. What makes it non-accidental cannot lie within the world, since if it did it would itself be accidental. It must lie outside the world.
3. It is clear that ethics cannot be put into words. Ethics is transcendental.
4. All propositions are of equal value.
Which of the following is the correct order?
1. So too it is impossible for there to be any propositions of ethics. Propositions can express nothing that is higher.
2. The sense of the world must lie outside the world. In the world everything is as it is, and everything happens as it does happen: in it no value exists, and if it did exist it would have no value. If there is any value that does have value, it must lie outside the whole sphere of what happens and is the case. For all that happens and is the case is accidental. What makes it non-accidental cannot lie within the world, since if it did it would itself be accidental. It must lie outside the world.
3. It is clear that ethics cannot be put into words. Ethics is transcendental.
4. All propositions are of equal value.
Which of the following is the correct order?
Show Hint
Look for the sentence that sounds like a wrap-up conclusion (it will use a summarizing phrase) and place it last; then find which sentence has nothing to refer back to, since that one must open the paragraph.
Updated On: Jul 10, 2026
- 4-2-1-3
- 2-1-3-4
- 1-3-4-2
- 4-3-1-2
Show Solution
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Look for the sentence that reads like a closing statement, not an opener.
Sentence 3 says, 'It is clear that ethics cannot be put into words. Ethics is transcendental.' The phrase 'it is clear that' is a summing-up phrase, the kind a writer uses only after laying out an argument, not at the very start of one. So statement 3 is almost certainly the last line of the paragraph, the conclusion the whole passage is building toward on the topic of ethics.
Step 2: Find the sentence that can open the paragraph.
Sentence 4, 'All propositions are of equal value,' is a flat, general claim with no back-reference to anything before it. It reads like a starting premise, so it is a strong candidate for the opening line of the paragraph. This already rules out any order that does not begin with 4, which knocks out option B (2-1-3-4) and option C (1-3-4-2).
Step 3: Track the idea of value from statement 4 into the next line.
Statement 2 opens with 'The sense of the world must lie outside the world' and goes on to talk about value existing or not existing in the world. This directly continues the theme that statement 4 introduces, propositions and their value, so 4 is followed by 2, giving us the pair 4-2. Between the two remaining candidates, option A (4-2-1-3) keeps this pair intact while option D (4-3-1-2) breaks it apart by putting 3 right after 4.
Step 4: Confirm the link between statement 2 and statement 1.
Statement 1 opens with 'So too it is impossible for there to be any propositions of ethics.' The words 'so too' only make sense if the previous sentence was already discussing something being impossible or absent, which statement 2 does when it says no value exists and it must lie outside the world. This confirms 2 is followed by 1, so the chain reads 4-2-1.
Step 5: Place the concluding sentence.
With 4-2-1 fixed as the opening chain, statement 3, the summarizing sentence about ethics being transcendental and beyond words, naturally closes the paragraph, since it wraps up exactly what statements 4, 2 and 1 have been building toward: that value and ethics cannot be expressed in ordinary propositions because they lie outside the world of facts.
Step 6: Why the other options fail.
Option B (2-1-3-4) opens with statement 2, which reads as a continuation, not a starting premise, since it already assumes propositions and value have been introduced. Option C (1-3-4-2) opens with statement 1's 'So too,' which cannot be the very first line since there is nothing before it for 'so too' to refer back to. Option D (4-3-1-2) breaks the 4-2 pair, which is confirmed by the shared idea of value between the two sentences, and it also places the concluding statement 3 too early, right after the opening line. Option E (3-1-2-4) puts the summarizing sentence 3 first, which contradicts its role as a conclusion.
Final Answer:
The coherent order is 4-2-1-3. \[ \boxed{\text{Option A: } 4\text{-}2\text{-}1\text{-}3} \]
Sentence 3 says, 'It is clear that ethics cannot be put into words. Ethics is transcendental.' The phrase 'it is clear that' is a summing-up phrase, the kind a writer uses only after laying out an argument, not at the very start of one. So statement 3 is almost certainly the last line of the paragraph, the conclusion the whole passage is building toward on the topic of ethics.
Step 2: Find the sentence that can open the paragraph.
Sentence 4, 'All propositions are of equal value,' is a flat, general claim with no back-reference to anything before it. It reads like a starting premise, so it is a strong candidate for the opening line of the paragraph. This already rules out any order that does not begin with 4, which knocks out option B (2-1-3-4) and option C (1-3-4-2).
Step 3: Track the idea of value from statement 4 into the next line.
Statement 2 opens with 'The sense of the world must lie outside the world' and goes on to talk about value existing or not existing in the world. This directly continues the theme that statement 4 introduces, propositions and their value, so 4 is followed by 2, giving us the pair 4-2. Between the two remaining candidates, option A (4-2-1-3) keeps this pair intact while option D (4-3-1-2) breaks it apart by putting 3 right after 4.
Step 4: Confirm the link between statement 2 and statement 1.
Statement 1 opens with 'So too it is impossible for there to be any propositions of ethics.' The words 'so too' only make sense if the previous sentence was already discussing something being impossible or absent, which statement 2 does when it says no value exists and it must lie outside the world. This confirms 2 is followed by 1, so the chain reads 4-2-1.
Step 5: Place the concluding sentence.
With 4-2-1 fixed as the opening chain, statement 3, the summarizing sentence about ethics being transcendental and beyond words, naturally closes the paragraph, since it wraps up exactly what statements 4, 2 and 1 have been building toward: that value and ethics cannot be expressed in ordinary propositions because they lie outside the world of facts.
Step 6: Why the other options fail.
Option B (2-1-3-4) opens with statement 2, which reads as a continuation, not a starting premise, since it already assumes propositions and value have been introduced. Option C (1-3-4-2) opens with statement 1's 'So too,' which cannot be the very first line since there is nothing before it for 'so too' to refer back to. Option D (4-3-1-2) breaks the 4-2 pair, which is confirmed by the shared idea of value between the two sentences, and it also places the concluding statement 3 too early, right after the opening line. Option E (3-1-2-4) puts the summarizing sentence 3 first, which contradicts its role as a conclusion.
Final Answer:
The coherent order is 4-2-1-3. \[ \boxed{\text{Option A: } 4\text{-}2\text{-}1\text{-}3} \]
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