Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea of the passage given above?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) The conceptions of what is right or wrong exist due to the formation of a state.
In a natural state each man judges good and bad by his own advantage, so nothing is good or bad by common assent and 'sin cannot be conceived'. Only in a civil state is good and bad decreed by common consent — so shared notions of right and wrong come with the formation of the state.
- ✓ (a) 'Sin cannot be conceived in a natural state, but only in a civil state, which is decreed by common consent what is good or bad' — right and wrong, as shared ideas, arise with the state.
- ✗ (b) The passage speaks of common consent in a civil state, not a ruling authority deciding; and it does not say individuals cannot be morally right.
- ✗ (c) Man in a natural state consults his own advantage, but the passage does not call him 'inherently immoral' — it says sin cannot even be conceived there.
- ✗ (d) The survival of the human species is never discussed.
Remember · The central idea is the passage's main contrast (here, natural state versus civil state); reject options that add labels like 'immoral' or new themes.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·