TC/SE question - double possibility?

GRE GRE Verbal Problem Solving
1

No longer __ by the belief that the world around us was expressly designed for humanity, many people try to find intellectual __ for that lost certainty in astrology and in mysticism.

(A) satisfied … reasons
(B) sustained … substitutes
(C) reassured … justifications
(D) hampered … equivalents
(E) restricted … parallels

Please find below my analysis, and please correct me if I am wrong..

many people try to find intellectual ____ for that lost certainty in astrology and in mysticism can either be positive or negative.

Possibility 1: People are trying can be interpreted as positive, meaning that the first blank will be negative in this specific case.

Possibility 2: There is lost certainty in astrology and in mysticism can be interpreted as negative, meaning that the first blank must be positive in this specific case.

Looking at all the options, if you think about it, all options make sense. I have straightaway jumped to looking at the answer choices because I don’t think that there is/are enough evidence(s) to prethink both the blanks.

Options A, B, and C are associated with possibility 2, and options D and E are associated with possibility 1.

As I have mentioned above, all options make sense, of course some less loosely, other more loosely, but they definitely make sense.

reasons and justifications mean/do the same thing, so do satisfied and reassured..
hampered and restricted kinda do the same thing, so do equivalents and parallels..

So, options A,C, D, and E cannot be the answers

Option B is the only unique option among the 5 options, and it perfectly makes sense as well.

The thing is that I am primarily trying to validate is whether this is a double possibility question. In my humble opinion, it is, as explained above…

2

I do not think this is a double possibility. The evidence “for that lost certainty” clearly indicates that there can be no headway in astrology and in mysticism. This sets it as a negative. The first part indicates that some earlier held belief has been discarded and the lost certainty suggests that people are trying to find something else. Hence, substitutes is the only option which works.

There is no evidence to suggest that people are trying to find something on the lines of astrology and mysticism, hence equivalents and parallels are incorrect. Justifications and reasons can be eliminated on the basis of no evidence.

3

Blank 1: Where is there evidence for a positive or negative interpretation? Why not neutral?

Blank 2: Where is the evidence for the idea that people need to give reasons for or justify their lost certainty?