PrepTest 113, Section 4, Question 9
Cultural historian: Universal acceptance of scientific theories that(68 more words not shown)
The conclusion drawn by the(12 more words not shown)
- AScience does not(7 more words not shown)
- BHuman beings who(18 more words not shown)
- CPeople who have(14 more words not shown)
- DSome scientific theories(10 more words not shown)
- EScientific explanations that(22 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Could people accept that natural forces shape their actions and still treat each other kindly? I don't immediately see why accepting that view must make society less moral.
The supporting chain can initially sound complete: people stop feeling responsible, then feel no shame about immoral conduct, and widespread lack of shame produces moral decline. The historian gives us those connections. But look at where that chain starts. Have we established that accepting the scientific theories makes people stop feeling responsible?
That's the step I want to check. A belief about what influences human behavior isn't automatically the same as a person's attitude toward their own responsibility. We don't need to settle a philosophical debate about free will. We need the rule that carries the historian from accepting these theories to the loss of responsibility the next sentence uses.
What we’re looking for
We're asked for an assumption that makes the conclusion follow. My prediction is that people who accept this view of themselves will no longer feel responsible for their actions. With that connection, the rest of the stated chain can take us to moral decline.
Working the answers
- A
Whether science lets people control natural forces doesn't establish how accepting a scientific theory changes their sense of responsibility. People could have a belief about their lack of control while continuing to hold themselves responsible. A leaves that psychological connection unstated.
- BCorrect
This supplies the missing first step. People regard themselves only as natural objects and, as a result, lose their sense of responsibility. Universal acceptance of the theories would therefore produce the loss of responsibility the historian needs.
Now use the remaining premises: without a sense of responsibility, people feel unashamed of immoral acts; when that lack of shame is widespread, morality declines generally. B connects the beginning of the argument to that supplied sequence. It isn't necessary to prove any of these philosophical claims independently—we are being asked what follows once the proposed assumption is granted.
- C
This stays within the relationship between shame and responsibility. The passage already says people who lack a sense of responsibility feel no shame about immoral actions. Saying those who do feel shame have a sense of responsibility fits that relationship.
It still doesn't tell us what happens when people accept the scientific theories. Someone could accept them, feel responsible, and feel ashamed of wrongdoing without violating C. That leaves the missing first step unresolved.
- D
The existence of a theory saying people aren't responsible doesn't show that accepting the theories described here makes people lose their own sense of responsibility. We need a connection between the specified belief and its effect on people. Learning that some theories contain a particular claim doesn't supply that connection.
- E
These explanations give people some independence from natural laws, whereas the historian is discussing theories that treat people only as natural objects subject to forces beyond their control. E says the other kind of explanation won't produce decline. It doesn't establish that the kind under discussion will.
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