PrepTest 118, Section 1, Question 18
There is evidence to suggest that our cave-dwelling(27 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AMost flints used(8 more words not shown)
- BThe caves in(12 more words not shown)
- CThere is evidence(12 more words not shown)
- DFlints were often(10 more words not shown)
- EAny benefits that(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
More polished than hunting requires doesn't mean polished just to look nice. What if the flints were used for something else?
Maybe the extra polishing served a practical purpose in woodworking, cutting, or another everyday task. Those are possibilities, not facts about these particular flints. They show the gap: the argument tests usefulness for hunting and then treats appearance as the remaining explanation.
What we’re looking for
For a weakener, I'd look for another use the author hasn't considered. We don't have to show that early humans lacked an aesthetic sense. We need a reason to doubt that these unusually polished tools establish one.
Working the answers
- A
Most flints could be ordinary while the highly polished ones were made for their appearance. The argument relies on the existence of many unusually polished tools, not on their being a majority of all tools. A doesn't explain why those particular flints received extra polishing.
- B
An interest in appearance needn't express itself through cave paintings. These people could have put that interest into tools instead. The absence of one kind of decoration doesn't rule out aesthetic choices in another. B doesn't give the alternative purpose for polishing that would directly challenge the inference.
- C
Displaying the flints in religious ceremonies is compatible with an interest in their appearance. It doesn't establish that the polishing had a purely practical purpose. We shouldn't say ceremonial display proves an aesthetic sense, but it certainly doesn't supply the clear reason to doubt that inference that we're seeking.
- DCorrect
Hunting isn't the only practical use of these flints. If they also served everyday chores, judging how much polish hunting required wouldn't settle whether the extra polishing had a practical purpose. Perhaps another task called for a different finish.
D doesn't tell us exactly which chore required which degree of polish. It weakens the argument by establishing that there are other uses to consider before jumping from “not needed for hunting” to “done for appearance.”
- E
Not understanding the benefits of an aesthetic sense doesn't show that people lacked one. The question is what explains the polishing, not whether an interest in beauty would have helped those people survive or prosper. E leaves the particular inference about these tools untouched.
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