PrepTest 145, Section 3, Question 15
Passage A One function of language is to(496 more words not shown)
Passage A(233 more words not shown)
Passage B(271 more words not shown)
In discussing the philosopher Maritain,(8 more words not shown)
- Adescribe an interpretation(12 more words not shown)
- Bsuggest by illustration(13 more words not shown)
- Cpresent an argument(13 more words not shown)
- Dfurnish specific evidence(12 more words not shown)
- Epoint to a(12 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Maritain is an example of the reasoning B wants to challenge. He interprets a bee's informative dance as a conditioned reflex without intention. The next paragraph calls the arguments circular: the absence of intention is assumed and then used to support the claimed divide.
What we’re looking for
So the purpose is to present a view whose reasoning the author rejects. Don't confuse criticizing an argument against animal intention with proving that animals have intention.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
B presents Maritain's interpretation and then identifies the logical problem with treating an assumed lack of intention as evidence for a fundamental difference. That explains both why the example appears and what the author does with it.
- B
B doesn't establish that the bees consciously intend their signals. The example presents Maritain's denial of intention so that its reasoning can be criticized. A failed argument against a claim doesn't automatically prove the claim.
- C
Maritain's interpretation goes in the opposite direction: the dance is a conditioned response, not spontaneous and creative communication. B's criticism doesn't turn his interpretation into an argument for creativity.
- D
A criticism of how a theory is justified isn't itself specific evidence that animal signals are not conditioned reflexes. The honeybee discussion supplies the disputed interpretation, not an observation disproving it.
- E
The author challenges Maritain's reasoning rather than invoking his reputation as a reason to accept his view. Whether he is a noted authority doesn't make this a respectful appeal to that authority.
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