For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted peo

Question

For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted people was considered something of an old canard. However, functional brain imaging now has allowed us to look inside the brains of blind people who possess what can only be termed cerebral superpowers—the ability to understand speech at up to 25 syllables per second, a speed that sounds like “noise” to sighted people (a typical sighted person understands closer to 10 syllables per second). As it turns out, a brain region called V1, situated at the back of the skull and which normally only responds to light has actually been rewired in the brains of blind people—and now processes auditory information. This is truly a stunning example of the brain’s plasticity, a topic of cardinal importance in designing educational experiences and materials to best engage the brains of students.

Of course, in discussing the brain’s amazing plasticity, modern thinkers take for granted something that would have been shocking to thinkers from Aristotle (who posited a holistic, non-corporeal mind in De Anima in the 4th century, BC) through Descartes (who argued, in the 17th century, for mind-body dualism)—the idea that the mind is physically located in the brain and that our intellect, personality, and selfhood are attributable to physical processes in the brain and can be altered by brain injuries.

Of course, in discussing the brain’s amazing plasticity, modern thinkers take for granted something that would have been shocking to thinkers from Aristotle (who posited a holistic, non-corporeal mind in De Anima in the 4th century, BC) through Descartes (who argued, in the 17th century, for mind-body dualism)—the idea that the mind is physically located in the brain and that our intellect, personality, and selfhood are attributable to physical processes in the brain and can be altered by brain injuries.    1 
 1. According to the passage, the belief that blind people can hear better than sighted people

(A) is untrue
(B) was not a matter of contention, but was then shown to be true
(C) was, for years, thought to be true, but is now up for debate
(D) is put forth by the scientific community, but this evidence is contested by many
(E) was, for years, commonly known but thought by many to be false, and then was shown to be true

2 
 2. According to the passage, Aristotle would NOT have thought that

I. the mind is separate from the body
II. the mind exists in parts or modules, rather than as one entity
III. blind people can hear better than sighted people

A. I Only
B. II Only
C. III Only
D. I and II Only
E. II and III Only

RC Butler 2023  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 140 Date: 09-May-2023
 This question is part of RC Butler 2023 .  Click here for Details

Manhattan GRE 5lb.

mitul19 · Answer

Can someone give explanation for Q2 .Thnks,

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. According to the passage, Aristotle would NOT have thought that

Explanation

According to the passage, Aristotle  “posited a holistic, non-corporeal mind”  and would have found  “shocking”  the idea that  “the mind is physically located in the brain.”  Thus, the  first statement is not correct , since Aristotle believed in a  “noncorporeal”  (not part of the body) mind. Since Aristotle believed in a  “holistic”  mind, he did NOT think that  “the mind exists in parts or modules.”  Thus, the second statement is correct. As for the third statement, the passage does not indicate what Aristotle might have thought about blind people’s hearing.

Answer: B

For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted peo

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For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted peo

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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