CSS 1996 Solved Precis

• Cannibalistic (adjective): Relating to the practice of eating one's own species; in this context, predatory or self-destructive
  • Contextual Explanation: Capitalism and communism are described as cannibalistic philosophies, suggesting they are predatory systems that consume the very humanity they should serve.
• Denuding (verb): Stripping something of its covering, possessions, or assets
  • Contextual Explanation: These philosophies are denuding man of feelings like sympathy and love, meaning they are stripping away his core human qualities.
• Harrowing (adjective): Acutely distressing
  • Contextual Explanation: The world wars reveal a harrowing distortion of life's purpose, a distortion that is deeply painful and distressing to witness.
• Servility (noun): An excessive willingness to serve or please others
  • Contextual Explanation: The scientist's servility to leaders is criticized, suggesting they are submissively serving those in power without moral questioning.
• Mutilation (noun): The action of disfiguring or damaging something severely
  • Contextual Explanation: There is an obvious mutilation of the purpose of creation, implying that the original intent of human existence has been severely damaged or distorted.

The passage is about the distorted development of modern civilization resulting from a lack of synthesis between scientific evolution, psychological understanding, cultural values, and moral purpose, which has reduced man to an economic and technological entity while eroding his cultural, ethical, and humane dimensions. Furthermore, the passage's purpose is to criticize the one-sided scientific and psychological interpretations that have reduced human identity to economic terms and distorted the balanced growth of civilization. It shows how modern ideologies and technological power have arrested man's cultural and moral evolution, questions the ethical roles of scientists, politicians, religion, and humanity itself, and highlights the loss of a holistic understanding between Cosmos, Life, and Man, ultimately warning against a civilization driven by power and economics without moral synthesis.

Main Idea of the Passage

• Modern civilization, by separating from science, psychology, and culture, has misused power, reduced man to an economic entity, and pushed humanity toward moral decay and self-destruction.

Supporting Ideas Helping the Main Idea

• Scientific and psychological discoveries brought powerful new insights, but they also produced distortions by treating human development in a fragmented and incomplete manner.
• Physical power advanced rapidly while mental, moral, and cultural growth failed to keep pace, creating a dangerous imbalance in human progress.
• Psychology focused on analyzing the human mind in isolation and neglected the body and social environment, weakening a holistic understanding of humanity.
• Owing to the lack of integration between mind and body, modern civilization has been dominated by economic considerations rather than cultural or moral values.
• Man came to be regarded primarily as an economic entity instead of a complete human being with intellectual and spiritual dimensions.
• Both capitalism and communism, despite their ideological differences, obstructed cultural development by subordinating human values to material or political goals.
• Scientific and technological power expanded enormously, but moral responsibility declined, leading to the misuse of knowledge instead of its humane application.
• Scientists increasingly placed natural forces at the disposal of political authority, which intensified fear, insecurity, and the destructive potential of modern society.
• Fundamental questions concerning science, religion, politics, and the future of humanity remained unresolved and confused.
• The failure to recognize the unity of cosmos, life, and man prevented the formation of a balanced and meaningful civilization.

Confused About Main and Supporting Ideas?

Kindly make sure to revise all five lectures on Precis Writing that I have already delivered. In these sessions, we discussed in detail:

• What a precis is and its purpose.
• What the main idea means and how to extract it effectively.
• What supporting ideas are and how to identify them.
• How to coordinate the main and supporting ideas while writing a concise, coherent precis.

Additionally, go through the 20 examples I shared in the WhatsApp groups. These examples highlight the Dos and Don’ts of Precis Writing, and revising them will help you avoid common mistakes and refine your technique.

Precis 1

Modern civilization developed powerful science and psychology, yet failed to integrate them with moral, cultural, and humane values. Consequently, physical and technological power advanced faster than mental and ethical growth, creating a dangerous imbalance. Meanwhile, psychology examined the mind in isolation, ignoring the body and society, weakening holistic understanding. As a result, economic considerations dominated civilization, reducing man to an economic entity rather than a complete human being. Moreover, both capitalist and communist systems subordinated cultural values to material or political goals. Although scientific power expanded, moral responsibility declined, allowing knowledge to be misused. Accordingly, scientists placed natural forces at political disposal, increasing fear and insecurity. Thus, unresolved questions concerning science, religion, politics, and humanity persisted while neglect of the unity of cosmos, life, and man prevented the formation of a balanced civilization.

• Original Words in the Passage: 372
• Precis Word Count: 133
• Title: Moral Imbalance in Modern Civilization

Precis 2

Modern civilization has been reshaped by scientific and psychological progress; however, it still lacks moral and cultural cohesion. As a result, physical power has raced ahead of ethical and intellectual growth. Moreover, psychology, by isolating the mind from society and the body, has weakened holistic understanding. Thus, economic priorities dominate, reducing humans to mere economic beings, while both capitalism and communism sacrifice human values to material or political goals. Meanwhile, scientific power widens as moral responsibility shrinks, enabling misuse and deepening fear. Therefore, unresolved human questions endure, and ignoring the unity of cosmos, life, and humanity prevents the emergence of a balanced civilization.

• Original Words in the Passage: 372
• Precis Word Count: 103
• Title: The Crisis of Human Balance

Precis 3

Scientific and psychological progress reshaped modern civilization, but lacked moral and cultural synthesis. Therefore, physical power outpaced ethical growth while psychology isolated the mind from society and the body, undermining comprehensive understanding. Thus, economic priorities reduced humans to economic entities, and both capitalism and communism subordinated human values to material or political aims. Meanwhile, expanding scientific power without responsibility enabled misuse and fear. Therefore, all unresolved questions endured, and overlooking the unity of cosmos, life, and man obstructed balanced civilization.

• Original Words in the Passage: 372
• Precis Word Count: 80
• Title: Civilization without Moral Unity

Precis 4

Science and psychology advanced modern civilization, but lacked moral and cultural integration. Moreover, physical power outpaced ethical development, and psychology neglected social and bodily context. Consequently, economic priorities dominated, reducing man to an economic entity. Thus, materialist systems eroded human values; irresponsible scientific power bred fear, ignored cosmic-human unity, and blocked balanced growth of civilization.

• Original Words in the Passage: 372
• Precis Word Count: 54
• Title: Civilization Lacking Moral Integration