Anthropological studies indicate that distinct culture differs in thei

Question

Anthropological studies indicate that distinct culture differs in their moral codes. Thus, as long as there are distinct cultures there are no values shared across cultures.

Each of the following, if true, would weaken the argument EXCEPT:

(A) Anthropologists rely on inadequate translation techniques to investigate the values of cultures that use languages different from the anthropologists’ languages.

(B) As a result of advancing technology and global communication we will someday all share the same culture and the same values.

(C) Although specific moral values differ across cultures, more general moral principles, such as “Friendship is good,” are common to all cultures.

(D) The anthropologists who have studied various cultures have been biased in favor of finding differences rather than similarities between distinct cultures.

(E) What appear to be differences in values between distinct cultures are nothing more than differences in beliefs about how to live in accordance with shared values.

shvmsrvstv · Answer

My answer is D. It strengthens the argument.

A)Anthropologists rely on inadequate translation techniques to investigate the values of cultures that use languages different from the anthropologists’ languages. (....Weakens the argument)

(B) As a result of advancing technology and global communication we will someday all share the same culture and the same values.(......weakening the argument)

(C) Although specific moral values differ across cultures, more general moral principles, such as “Friendship is good,” are common to all cultures. (.... Weakening the argument)

(D) The anthropologists who have studied various cultures have been biased in favor of finding differences rather than similarities between distinct cultures.(strengthens the argument)

(E) What appear to be differences in values between distinct cultures are nothing more than differences in beliefs about how to live in accordance with shared values(....Weakens the argument)

adstudy · Answer

IMO answer should be (E) but waiting for the OA.

My analysis is as follows -

From Stem we know -

Distinct Cultures differ in their moral codes. So author concludes, till there are distinct cultures there are no values shared across cultures.

Choice Analysis, We need to find the one that does not weaken the argument

This option weakens by saying that transalation of values of cultures is weak making the conclusion weak.  Hence Incorrect

This option weakens as it promots that distinct cultures can share same values at some point.  Hence Incorrect

This again weakens as argument concludes that distinct cultures mean no shared values but this option shows us a shared value.  Hence Incorrect

This again weakens as argument concludes that distinct cultures mean no shared values but if the root of this finding is biased then it is hinting that distinct cultures may have some similarities but the anthropologists have just ignored or overlooked them . Hence Incorrect

This choice, according to me, is neither weakening nor strengthening the conclusion. Saying that distinct cultures are similar to distinct believes is not impacting anything related to distinct cultures having no shared values.   Hence Correct   as it is not weakening the conclusion

Geet91 · Answer

can someone explain how "B" is correct?

SiffyB · Answer

Hi  Geet91 ,

We have to determine a statement that does not weaken the claim that 'as long as there are distinct cultures there are no values shared across cultures'.

Let's take a look at (B).
(B) As a result of advancing technology and global communication we will someday all share the same culture and the same values.

According to this statement, we will someday share same cultures and same values. This talks about a future possibility. But does it shed light on the past or present? NO! This statement does not even claim that because we will have same culture, therefore, we will have same values. This statement has absolutely no effect on the conclusion and is the correct choice.

Hopw that helps!

akshaymalpani · Answer

Anthropological studies indicate that distinct culture differs in their moral codes. Thus, as long as there are distinct cultures there are no values shared across cultures.

Each of the following, if true, would weaken the argument EXCEPT:

(A) Anthropologists rely on inadequate translation techniques to investigate the values of cultures that use languages different from the anthropologists’ languages.
- Weakens. This is saying that it may be a case of lost in translation. So the apparent differences is due to poor translation.

(B) As a result of advancing technology and global communication we will someday all share the same culture and the same values.
- Hold on to this. We are concerned with the past, but B is speaking about the future. I'd say don't rule this out immediately.

(C) Although specific moral values differ across cultures, more general moral principles, such as “Friendship is good,” are common to all cultures.
- Weakens.

(D) The anthropologists who have studied various cultures have been biased in favor of finding differences rather than similarities between distinct cultures.
- Weakens. This means they are looking at only differences while casting a blind eye to the similarities just to make their argument.

(E) What appear to be differences in values between distinct cultures are nothing more than differences in beliefs about how to live in accordance with shared values. 
- Weakens. This may seem complicated but what E is trying to say is that two cultures might share values such as truth, justice, fairness, liberty etc. but at the same time, they may differ in the ways to realize those values. Just an example, both the US and the UK believe in the rule of law and courts but they may differ in their approaches. Some crimes might attract a severe punishment in the US but in the UK, you just pay a penalty for them. In US courts, juries are considered the best way to get at the truth while in UK courts, the adversarial system is the best at arriving to the truth.

Ayushi0002 · Answer

I think the main conflict was between B and D. But D was a lot more ambiguous, what if there are similarities and what if there are none? Basically, Anthropological students have neglected the role of similarities and just gone after differences, so it just goes to show that there could be multiple similarities, we are unaware of. Am I right?

Bunuel · Answer

The OA is B, which you can check under the spoiler in the original post.

KarishmaB · Answer

Premise: Anthropological studies indicate that distinct cultures differ in their moral codes. Conclusion: As long as there are distinct cultures there are no values shared across cultures. Based on the data that studies indicate that distinct cultures differ in their moral codes, the author is concluding that as long as there are distinct cultures, there are no values shared across cultures. There are lots of gaps in this argument. It is possible that the studies are not reliable. It is possible that even if there are differences, there are some values which are the same etc. Since it is a weaken EXCEPT question, we need to find 4 weakeners. (A) Anthropologists rely on inadequate translation techniques to investigate the values of cultures that use languages different from the anthropologists’ languages. This is a way of telling us that the anthropologists’ studies are not reliable. The investigative translation techniques are inadequate which means they do not do the job properly. Then we can likely not rely on the result of these studies. (B) As a result of advancing technology and global communication we will someday all share the same culture and the same values. What will happen when we share the same culture is out of scope. Our conclusion is "as long as there are distinct cultures ..." Hence this does not weaken our conclusion. Hence it is the answer. (C) Although specific moral values differ across cultures, more general moral principles, such as “Friendship is good,” are common to all cultures. This option weakens our conclusion. It says that there are certain values which are common to all cultures. (D) The anthropologists who have studied various cultures have been biased in favor of finding differences rather than similarities between distinct cultures. This weakens the conclusion too. The studies found differences between cultures. But here is the thing - did they look for similarities too? What if they never tried to find whether there are any similarities? Perhaps they would have found if they had looked for them. The point is that if your focus in a study is to find differences, that is all you will find. It doesn't mean that certain similarities do not exist. Hence it weakens our conlcusion that there are no similarities. (E) What appear to be differences in values between distinct cultures are nothing more than differences in beliefs about how to live in accordance with shared values. This option also weakens our conlcusion. The conlcusion says that there are no shared values. This option tells us that the differences we see are not differences in values but in how to live in accordance to those values. For example, a shared value could be "Do not lie." One culture could inculcate it by teaching the kids to not lie. Another culture could enforce it by penalising those who lie. The two cultures would seem to have different moral codes but in fact the difference lies in how they live in acocordance with the same shared value - do not lie. Then there are shared values across cultures. Answer (B) Discussion on Weaken Questions: https://youtu.be/EhZ8FKkfy0k

A_Nishith · Answer

The argument presented suggests that distinct cultures do not share values, based on anthropological studies indicating differences in their moral codes. To weaken this argument, we need to find statements that challenge the premise or conclusion that distinct cultures have no shared values. The task is to identify the one option that does not weaken the argument.

Let's analyze each option:

(A) Anthropologists rely on inadequate translation techniques to investigate the values of cultures that use languages different from the anthropologists’ languages.

This statement suggests that differences in moral codes may be due to translation issues, not actual differences in values. This weakens the argument by questioning the accuracy of the anthropological studies.

(B) As a result of advancing technology and global communication we will someday all share the same culture and the same values.

This statement suggests that in the future, cultural differences will disappear, and we will all share the same values. This weakens the argument by indicating that the lack of shared values is temporary and not inherent to distinct cultures.

(C) Although specific moral values differ across cultures, more general moral principles, such as “Friendship is good,” are common to all cultures.

This statement directly weakens the argument by suggesting that despite differences in specific values, there are general moral principles shared across cultures.

(D) The anthropologists who have studied various cultures have been biased in favor of finding differences rather than similarities between distinct cultures.

This statement weakens the argument by questioning the objectivity of the anthropological studies and suggesting that similarities might exist but have been overlooked.

(E) What appear to be differences in values between distinct cultures are nothing more than differences in beliefs about how to live in accordance with shared values.

This statement suggests that the perceived differences in values are actually differences in beliefs about how to express those values. This weakens the argument by indicating that shared values might exist but are manifested differently.

The option that does not weaken the argument is:

(B) As a result of advancing technology and global communication we will someday all share the same culture and the same values.

This statement is about the future convergence of values due to technological and communicative advancements, which does not address the current state of shared or unshared values across distinct cultures. It does not challenge the current assertion that distinct cultures do not share values, thus it does not weaken the argument.

Hrley · Answer

I’d like to offer a simple explanation for why B is right.

The conclusion is “as long as there are distinct cultures, there are no shared values across cultures.”
So, the conclusion hinges on the condition that all cultures are different.

B says that “...we will all share the same culture and the same values.”

Predicting that we all share the same culture means that B is distracting us from the condition that all cultures are different.
Hence, B actually has no bearing on our argument.

When you want to keep in mind a conclusion, you HAVE to keep in mind its condition(s) as well. 
Conditions are not premises, they’re like a “fake reality” where the author’s conclusion operates in.
You can only affect the conclusion in any way you want under this fake reality.

Anthropological studies indicate that distinct culture differs in thei

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