Cultural anthropological theory tends to fall into two camps. One

Question

Cultural anthropological theory tends to fall into two camps. One focuses on everyday social behavior as a system that has developed in response to human needs in a given environment. The other rejects this approach, focusing on the systems of meanings by which thoughts, rituals, and mythology in a society are structured. Cultural anthropologists, however, should employ both approaches, and also attend to a third, often neglected dimension: the view of a community as a set of individuals whose actions constitute the actual stuff of everyday life.

Which one of the following statements is most strongly supported by the information above?

(A) Patterns of social behavior have meaning only when considered from the point of view of the community.

(B) Cultural anthropologists too often rely on a conception of human needs that excludes the notion of community.

(C) Cultural anthropological theorists who focus on issues of meaning overlook the humanity of their individual subjects.

(D) Systems of behavior can be understood only by experiencing the environments to which they respond.

(E) Disagreement among cultural anthropological theorists does not necessarily imply that their approaches are incompatible.

ankushsambare · Answer

Premise
There are two main camps in cultural anthropology:
One studies social behavior as a system shaped by human needs and environment.
The other focuses on meanings in rituals, myths, and thought structures.
The passage says anthropologists should use both approaches and also add a third: focus on individuals and their real actions in daily life.
Conclusion
Different theoretical camps exist, but anthropologists should combine them along with an individual-focused view.
Prethinking
We are looking for a statement that:
 
 acknowledges disagreement between theories 
 but says the approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive  
Option check
A Talks about meaning of social behavior → not supported
B Claims anthropologists exclude community → not stated
C Says meaning-focused theorists ignore humanity of individuals → too strong, not stated
D Says understanding behavior requires experiencing environments → not mentioned
E Says disagreement does not mean approaches are incompatible → matches main idea that both approaches should be used together
 Correct Answer E
Conclusion
E is correct because the passage argues that different theoretical approaches are not mutually exclusive and should be combined.

guddo · Answer

Cultural anthropological theory tends to fall into two camps. One focuses on everyday social behavior as a system that has developed in response to human needs in a given environment. The other rejects this approach, focusing on the systems of meanings by which thoughts, rituals, and mythology in a society are structured. Cultural anthropologists, however, should employ both approaches, and also attend to a third, often neglected dimension: the view of a community as a set of individuals whose actions constitute the actual stuff of everyday life.
 
 Which one of the following statements is most strongly supported by the information above?

The passage describes two competing approaches in cultural anthropology, but then says anthropologists should use both approaches and also add a third one.  So the key point is that disagreement between approaches does not mean only one can be useful .

(A) Patterns of social behavior have meaning only when considered from the point of view of the community.

Wrong. The passage does not say social behavior has meaning only from the community’s perspective.

(B) Cultural anthropologists too often rely on a conception of human needs that excludes the notion of community.

Wrong. The passage says one approach focuses on human needs and environment, but it does not say this approach excludes community.

(C) Cultural anthropological theorists who focus on issues of meaning overlook the humanity of their individual subjects.

Wrong. The passage says individual actions are often neglected, but it does not specifically accuse meaning-focused theorists of overlooking humanity.

(D) Systems of behavior can be understood only by experiencing the environments to which they respond.

Wrong. The passage does not say direct experience of the environment is necessary.

(E) Disagreement among cultural anthropological theorists does not necessarily imply that their approaches are incompatible.

Correct. The two camps disagree, but the author says cultural anthropologists should employ both approaches. So the approaches are  not necessarily incompatible .

Answer: (E)

sashankmvv1234 · Answer

can someone please analyze my approach?

A) Nowhere it is meant "only" from community. Wrong
B. too often is wrong. Also author has the community approach is often neglected but saying cultural anthropologists too often neglect it too much.
C) Overlook the humanity? this is a bit generalized version plus again saying that camp 2 is overlooking is wrong. We don't know if they overlook. Wrong
D) only is wrong. It is a way but we don't know if it is the only way.

apologies for brevity.

guddo · Answer

I think your approach is good.

For A and D, you correctly caught the word  “only” . The passage does not make either claim exclusive.

For B, the issue is not just “too often.” The bigger problem is that the passage never says the human-needs approach excludes community.

For C, correct: the passage says the individual-action dimension is often neglected, but it does not specifically blame the meaning-focused theorists.

For E: this is supported because the passage says the two camps disagree, yet anthropologists should use both approaches. So disagreement does not mean the approaches are  incompatible .

yc168 · Answer

OE for reference:

Overview:  
Two approaches to cultural anthropology are described: the "behavior as a system" approach, which treats social behavior as a response to human needs, and the "meaning" approach, which emphasizes systems of meanings. Even though proponents of the "meaning" approach reject the "behavior as a system" approach, it is said that cultural anthropologists should employ both approaches, as well as a third, "community" approach.
You are asked to select the answer choice that is most strongly supported by these statements.

The Correct Answer:

E  Proponents of the "meaning" approach reject the "behavior as a system" approach, so it's clear that they disagree with those who favor that approach. But the view being advocated is that cultural anthropologists should employ both approaches, which strongly suggests that they are compatible. This establishes (E)'s claim that disagreement among cultural anthropologists does not necessarily imply the incompatibility of their approaches.

The Incorrect Answer Choices:

A  (A)'s claim that patterns of social behavior have meaning only from the community's point of view combines aspects of the "behavior as a system," "meaning," and "community" approaches. But we are told only that these three approaches should all be used, not that they should be combined in any particular way. So this claim is not strongly supported by the statements in the passage.

B  While it's true that the "community" approach is said to be "often neglected," the specific aspects of cultural anthropology that would benefit from this approach are never identified. In particular, we are never given reason to think that the notion of community should be included in anthropologists' conceptions of human needs. Moreover, it's entirely consistent with the passage that every anthropologist's conception of human needs already includes the notion of community. Thus, (B)'s claim is not strongly supported by the statements in the passage.

C  (C) indicates that cultural anthropologists who focus on issues of meaning—which includes proponents of the "meaning" approach—overlook their individual subject's humanity. But the passage never raises the issue of the humanity of individual subjects, either in connection with the "meaning" approach or any other approach, so it does not strongly support this claim.

D  (D) indicates that systems of behavior—which are the focus of the "behavior as a system" approach—are understandable only by experiencing the environments to which they respond. But the passage never considers any need to experience an environment, either in connection with the "behavior as a system" approach or any other approach, so it does not strongly support this claim.

Cultural anthropological theory tends to fall into two camps. One

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Cultural anthropological theory tends to fall into two camps. One

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