PrepTest 158, Section 2, Question 8
Sociologist: Some anthropologists claim that cultures can most(37 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(6 more words not shown)
- Acan save those(10 more words not shown)
- Bwill ensure the(9 more words not shown)
- Ccan be implemented(9 more words not shown)
- Dconstitutes the most(8 more words not shown)
- Ecan succeed if(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
How are we saving a culture if we remove things essential to its identity?
The anthropologists propose giving up many traditions so that others can survive. The sociologist's objection is that each tradition is essential to the culture's identity. Accept that premise, and the proposed cure defeats its own purpose: removing those traditions removes something the culture needs in order to remain that culture.
Imagine trying to prevent damage to a building by tearing the whole building down. You may stop the particular damage you feared, but you haven't saved the building. The sociologist sees the proposal in a similar way. Keeping a few traditions isn't enough if losing the others destroys the identity we're trying to preserve.
What we’re looking for
We're filling in the sociologist's conclusion. My prediction is simply, “This strategy is counterproductive.” Look for the answer saying that the proposed protection brings about the very loss it is supposed to prevent.
Working the answers
- A
Reflection and imagination don't answer the sociologist's objection. If each tradition is essential to the culture's identity, thoughtfully abandoning those traditions still removes essential parts of that identity. A says the strategy can save a culture when the argument is heading toward the opposite conclusion.
- BCorrect
The strategy would eliminate the culture rather than protect it from decay. That sounds stronger than our shorthand prediction of “counterproductive,” but the premise explains the strength: each tradition is essential to the culture's identity. Abandoning many of them gives up what the sociologist says the culture needs to remain intact.
- C
Whether anthropologists have studied a culture tells us nothing here about who can implement the strategy. The argument concerns what abandoning traditions does to cultural identity. C invents a requirement about being studied and never completes that reasoning.
- D
This endorses the anthropologists' recommendation. The sociologist is challenging it. An answer that calls the strategy the most effective response runs against the objection that it discards essential parts of the culture.
- E
Recently adopted traditions aren't given a special exemption. The sociologist says each tradition is essential. E introduces a distinction based on age and predicts success without explaining how that success could fit the premise.
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