SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 16 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
In contemporary discourse, “free will” is often celebrated as the cornerstone of individual autonomy and democratic agency. Yet, a deeper examination reveals that this perceived freedom may be more constructed than authentic. Modern society, while outwardly championing liberty, subtly engineers conformity through systems of social conditioning, digital surveillance, and algorithmic manipulation. The choices we make—what to wear, what to consume, even what to believe—are frequently shaped less by volition than by invisible frameworks of control. Consumer behavior is a telling example. Market forces, armed with behavioral data and predictive analytics, sculpt preferences before individuals are even conscious of them. Personalization engines masquerade as facilitators of choice, but in reality, they nudge individuals toward decisions already engineered to optimize corporate profit. Similarly, social media platforms curate information ecosystems that reinforce existing biases, creating cognitive echo chambers that masquerade as informed choice. Even political decisions—arguably the most significant expression of agency—are susceptible to manipulation. Campaign strategies leveraging psychographic profiling can influence voting behavior by exploiting psychological vulnerabilities rather than rational deliberation. The illusion of participation, thus, replaces genuine engagement. Moreover, societal norms, instilled through education, media, and cultural traditions, define the boundaries within which ‘freedom’ operates. A person may “choose” a career path, but that choice is often filtered through expectations shaped by socioeconomic class, geography, and familial pressures. What appears voluntary is often a conditioned response disguised as self-determination. To be clear, this is not an argument for fatalism, but rather a call for awareness. Recognizing the architecture that underpins our choices is the first step toward reclaiming autonomy. True agency, therefore, is not the absence of influence but the conscious interrogation of it. Without such reflection, free will in modern society may remain a comforting mirage rather than an existential reality.

What is the central argument of the passage?

(a)Free will is incompatible with democracy
(b)True freedom requires interrogation of influences
(c)Modern society gives full autonomy to individuals
(d)Autonomy is best achieved through capitalism

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The thesis sits in the sentence marked therefore: 'True agency, therefore, is not the absence of influence but the conscious interrogation of it.'

The lines before set it up: 'this is not an argument for fatalism, but rather a call for awareness', and recognizing what underpins our choices is 'the first step toward reclaiming autonomy'.

Freedom through interrogating influences → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Free will is incompatible with democracy — Incompatible with democracy is never claimed. The passage reports that free will is 'often celebrated as the cornerstone of individual autonomy and democratic agency', and political manipulation is one example of shaped choice, not a verdict on democracy.
(c)
Modern society gives full autonomy to individuals — Full autonomy contradicts the passage, which says modern society, 'while outwardly championing liberty, subtly engineers conformity'.
(d)
Autonomy is best achieved through capitalism — Capitalism is never named. Market forces appear as a threat to choice: personalization engines 'nudge individuals toward decisions already engineered to optimize corporate profit'.

Concept

A central-argument question asks for the claim the whole passage is built to support, not an example on the way.

Here the examples all show choice being shaped: consumer behavior, social media, political campaigns, career paths. The conclusion says what follows: interrogate influence rather than imagine it away.

Options that overstate the text (incompatible, full, best) or bring in a word it never uses (capitalism) fall away.

Key facts

Thesis: 'True agency, therefore, is not the absence of influence but the conscious interrogation of it.'
The author rejects fatalism: 'this is not an argument for fatalism, but rather a call for awareness.'
The passage's examples of shaped choice: consumer behavior, social media, political campaigns, career paths.

Study next

Separating a passage's thesis from its supporting examplesConclusion markers such as therefore, thus and henceEliminating options that overstate the text with words like full, incompatible and best

Common traps

Choosing an option built from a word the passage uses (democratic, market) that it never turns into a claim
Reading the critique of manipulation as fatalism, which the author explicitly rejects

The same passage's tone question, English Q.20 of this shift, keys Reflective and critical, and the 'not an argument for fatalism' line rules out Fatalistic and passive.

A conformity passage at 12 Sep 2025, 16:00, English Q.19 also ends on a remedy, 'institutionalizing dissent', keyed Encouraging constructive dissent.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
In contemporary discourse, “free will” is often celebrated as the cornerstone of individual autonomy and democratic agency. Yet, a deeper examination reveals that this perceived freedom may be more constructed than authentic. Modern society, while outwardly championing liberty, subtly engineers conformity through systems of social conditioning, digital surveillance, and algorithmic manipulation. The choices we make—what to wear, what to consume, even what to believe—are frequently shaped less by volition than by invisible frameworks of control. Consumer behavior is a telling example. Market forces, armed with behavioral data and predictive analytics, sculpt preferences before individuals are even conscious of them. Personalization engines masquerade as facilitators of choice, but in reality, they nudge individuals toward decisions already engineered to optimize corporate profit. Similarly, social media platforms curate information ecosystems that reinforce existing biases, creating cognitive echo chambers that masquerade as informed choice. Even political decisions—arguably the most significant expression of agency—are susceptible to manipulation. Campaign strategies leveraging psychographic profiling can influence voting behavior by exploiting psychological vulnerabilities rather than rational deliberation. The illusion of participation, thus, replaces genuine engagement. Moreover, societal norms, instilled through education, media, and cultural traditions, define the boundaries within which ‘freedom’ operates. A person may “choose” a career path, but that choice is often filtered through expectations shaped by socioeconomic class, geography, and familial pressures. What appears voluntary is often a conditioned response disguised as self-determination. To be clear, this is not an argument for fatalism, but rather a call for awareness. Recognizing the architecture that underpins our choices is the first step toward reclaiming autonomy. True agency, therefore, is not the absence of influence but the conscious interrogation of it. Without such reflection, free will in modern society may remain a comforting mirage rather than an existential reality.