PrepTest 135, Section 4, Question 21
Philosopher: To explain the causes of cultural phenomena,(57 more words not shown)
The claim that to explain(24 more words not shown)
- AIt describes a(14 more words not shown)
- BIt is a(16 more words not shown)
- CIt is a(21 more words not shown)
- DIt is a(32 more words not shown)
- EIt is a(22 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
One society can't tell us everything about what causes its political system.
Make the philosopher's dense example concrete. Suppose someone sees a matriarchal society in a jungle and says that this political structure is brought about only by those environmental conditions. Before accepting that explanation, we'd want to look elsewhere.
Are there societies with that same political structure outside the jungle? That would challenge the 'only under these conditions' part. Are there jungle societies with different political structures? That would challenge the idea that these conditions bring about this structure. These are hypothetical checks, not claims about actual societies.
Both questions require information beyond the original society. That's why the philosopher says social scientists need data about several societies. The long example explains the need for broader information; the opening claim states the point it supports.
What we’re looking for
For the role question, I want an answer saying the targeted claim is what the philosopher is trying to justify. We don't need to let the complicated wording hide that straightforward relationship.
Working the answers
- A
The philosopher isn't explaining how a scientist's desire for certainty causes a problem. The claim states what information is needed to explain cultural causes, and the following discussion supplies a reason for that requirement.
- B
This reverses the support. The philosopher uses the requirements for assessing a causal explanation to support the need for information from several societies. The claim about needing that information is the conclusion, not a premise used to establish a more general theory of causation.
- C
The passage doesn't demonstrate an actual causal relationship between an environment and a political structure. It describes what we would need to check before being sure of such a relationship. An example of the information required isn't an example proving that a particular environment causes a particular political system.
- D
There is no dilemma about whether the political structure causes the environment or the environment causes the political structure. The discussion concerns comparisons with other societies that would test the proposed explanation. D introduces a cause-versus-effect uncertainty the philosopher doesn't discuss.
- ECorrect
The philosopher attempts to justify the opening claim by explaining requirements for establishing this kind of causal relationship. To check whether the political structure occurs without the environmental conditions, or those conditions occur without the structure, the scientist needs information about other societies. That is the support for the targeted conclusion.
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