PrepTest 158, Section 3, Question 5
Domesticated animals, such as dogs, have come into(55 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- ADomesticated animals cannot(15 more words not shown)
- BIn some animal(9 more words not shown)
- CIn some animal(6 more words not shown)
- DIn some animal(9 more words not shown)
- EIn some domesticated(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Where do we find the tame animals to start with?
The wolf example makes sense on its own terms. Select the wolves that are sufficiently tame, breed them, and repeat that selection over generations. The passage tells us this can produce domesticated dogs. Let's accept that account.
Now comes the jump: all animals can be domesticated this way. What if a species has no tame members? Imagine trying to begin with a great white shark or a lion and discovering that none is tame enough for the process. I'm not claiming that's true of either species. The point is that the process needs starting material, and the argument hasn't shown that every species supplies it.
What we’re looking for
For a weakener, I'd want exactly that obstacle: some species never produces a tame individual. Showing that the method works for wolves doesn't show we can get it started everywhere.
Working the answers
- A
This runs the process in the other direction. We're asking whether wild species can be bred for domesticity, not whether dogs or other domesticated animals can be bred back into wild species. A limit on turning domestic animals wild doesn't establish a limit on making wild animals domestic.
- B
More frequent mating doesn't mean the tame members never mate. The proposed method selects those tame individuals for breeding, so they could still produce offspring even if wild members ordinarily mate more often. B doesn't establish that domestication is impossible in principle.
- CCorrect
In these species, there are no tame members to select. The argument's method depends on breeding individuals that display tameness, and C removes that first step. We now have a reason to doubt the claim about all animals even while accepting the successful wolf example.
- D
Less fertile is not infertile. Tame members might produce fewer offspring than wild members while still producing enough to continue the breeding process over generations. That could make the effort slower or more difficult without making it impossible in principle, which is the conclusion we need to challenge.
- E
Some domesticated animals are tamer than others. That's compatible with the argument: the resulting dogs don't all have to be equally tame. Our concern is whether every wild species has sufficiently tame individuals to begin the process. Variation within a species that's already domesticated doesn't answer that concern.
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