Questão nº 147
Questão de Língua Inglesa · CEBRASPE IRBR 2026 (nº 147)
The claim to reason or rationality is the ultimate validation of the affirmation and assertion of the human condition. Aristotle’s definition of man as "a rational animal" was not spoken of the African and the Amerindian. Little did he realise that his definition of "man" laid down the foundation for the struggle for reason between colonialists and colonized peoples.
Aristotle’s definition of man was deeply inscribed in the social ethos of those communities and societies which undertook the so-called voyages of discovery apparently driven by innocent curiosity. It seems then that the entire process of decolonisation has upheld and not jettisoned the questionable belief that "man is a rational animal" was not spoken of the African and of the Amerindian.
The term African philosophy renders the idea that history repeats itself easy to believe. The term tends to revive innate skepticism on the one hand and to stimulate ingrained condescension on the other. The skeptic, unswervingly committed to the will to remain ignorant, is simply dismissive of any possibility let alone the probability of African philosophy. Impelled by the will to dominate, the condescendor is often ready to entertain the probability of African philosophy provided the judgement pertaining to the experience, knowledge and truth about African philosophy is recognised as the sole and exclusive right of the condescendor. The self-appointed heirs to the right to reason have thus established themselves as the producers of all knowledge and the only holders of the truth.
Considering the preceding text, judge the following items.
Due to the grammatical function the pronoun "which" has in the first sentence of the second paragraph, it would be grammatically correct to add a comma after "societies".
Resposta comentada
A oração adjetiva (aquelas que começam com which, who, that e servem para caracterizar um substantivo anterior) pode ser restritiva ou explicativa. A diferença está na vírgula: sem vírgula, ela restringe (diz qual exatamente); com vírgula, ela apenas acrescenta um comentário extra. Aqui, o "which" retoma "communities and societies" e restringe o sentido — só aquelas comunidades específicas que fizeram as tais viagens é que tinham a definição inscrita no ethos. Se você põe vírgula, muda o sentido: passaria a dizer que todas as comunidades e sociedades (de modo geral) tinham isso inscrito, o que altera o significado e quebra a coesão do texto.
- Correta: Errado. A oração com "which" é restritiva, então não admite vírgula; inserir uma vírgula a transformaria em explicativa e mudaria o sentido do trecho.
Como ficaria certo: Manter a frase exatamente como está, sem vírgula após "societies": "...inscribed in the social ethos of those communities and societies which undertook the so-called voyages of discovery..."
Fonte: CEBRASPE IRBR 2026 Diplomata (Terceiro Secretário). Reproduzida para fins de estudo.