PrepTest 158, Section 2, Question 16
Historians have found that significant intellectual advances generally(36 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(14 more words not shown)
- AThe political systems(23 more words not shown)
- BThe citizens of(12 more words not shown)
- CFinancial support for(20 more words not shown)
- DSignificant intellectual advances(9 more words not shown)
- EMany thinkers besides(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Political stability sounds helpful if you're trying to think and work. If people are worried about their safety or their families, intellectual projects might be harder to pursue. So the general pattern the historians describe makes sense.
But “generally” doesn't mean “always.” Plato and Aristotle could be exceptions without disproving the pattern. The question is what might explain their success during unrest. We should also read the example carefully: it describes political and social unrest, so we can't dismiss the puzzle by saying only the social situation was troubled.
What we’re looking for
To reconcile the example with the general rule, I'd look for something different about Athens that allowed intellectual work to continue. What obstacle usually comes with instability, and why might that obstacle not have stopped these thinkers? We don't yet need a precise answer; we need a fact that connects the exceptional circumstances with the exceptional progress.
Working the answers
- A
Later political systems differed from the Athenian system. How does that explain intellectual achievement during Athens's unrest? The answer names a broad difference without showing what enabled these thinkers to work despite the conditions that usually accompany less progress.
- B
Respecting accomplished thinkers doesn't establish that they have what they need to do their work during turmoil. Public esteem could coexist with practical obstacles. B doesn't identify what allowed intellectual work to continue despite the unstable setting.
- CCorrect
This supplies a concrete obstacle and explains why Athens escaped it. Unstable political environments typically lack financial support for intellectual work. In Athens, wealthy citizens provided that support.
Now the general pattern and the exception fit together. Political instability often goes along with missing funding, which can hinder intellectual work. Athens could be politically troubled while still supplying the money that made the work possible. We don't have to deny the unrest to explain the achievement.
- D
Intellectual advances sometimes producing stability would concern what happens after the advances. Our puzzle concerns how the advances were possible while the setting was unstable. D doesn't explain what enabled Plato and Aristotle to make progress under those conditions.
- E
More thinkers contributing to Athens's achievements gives us more people to include in the puzzle. It doesn't explain why intellectual work flourished during unrest. Adding names to the success doesn't identify what made that success possible.
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