disinterestedness has been presumed

[DUET]

Source:
Official Guide to the GRE

For some time now, disinterestedness has been presumed not to exist: the cynical conviction that everybody has an angle is considered wisdom.

":" indicates that the red part explains the bold part. But I fail to realized it that how the red part explain the bold part here?

 

[Florentia52]

I would say the part in red restates rather than explains the part in black.

The idea that everybody has an angle, which the writer feels is only a cynical conviction, is now generally considered to be wisdom. Because of that, we no longer presume that disinterestedness exists.

 

[pilipina]

Yes, this sounds right. Although disinterestedness is not a very common word... a synonym more commonly used may be, lack of personal interest..., lack of vested interest, and "that everyone has an angle" meaning, everyone has a personal vested interest, or everyone has an ulterior motive. Just some ideas on synonyms...

 

[Parla]

The writer is saying that there is no such thing as impartiality.

 

[Thomas Tompion]

We shouldn't ignore the critical overtones of each sentence: 'presumed' suggesting that the assumption is not justified, 'considered' wisdom suggesting that the conviction is not wise.

I'd actually prefer 'assumed', as more accurate logically.

I'm not sure that I would accept Florentia's suggestion that there is an important difference here between restatement and explanation.

Most experienced teachers know that their stock in trade is to say the same thing over and over again in different ways.