GDT wrote:
MentorTutoringCan you pls explain the basis for eliminating A & B
Thanks in advance!
Hello,
GDT. Thank you for bringing this difficult question to my attention. It is one of those that forces you to pay attention to detail. My take on the passage and each response, starting as I typically do with the question itself:
Ross2018 wrote:
The argument is most vulnerable to which of the following criticisms?
That seems pretty straightforward, one variation of a
weaken-the-argument question. What about the passage?
Ross2018 wrote:
Most people believe that yawning is most powerfully triggered by seeing someone else yawn. This belief about yawning is widespread not only today, but also has been commonplace in many parts of the world in the past, if we are to believe historians of popular culture. Thus, seeing someone else yawn must be the most irresistible cause of yawning.
Sentence 1 outlines a
belief that
most people appear to hold about the most powerful trigger for a yawn. It is stated as fact.
Sentence 2 provides some contextual information about
this belief, one that has been around for a long time
in many parts of the world, but only according to
historians of popular culture.
Sentence 3 spells out the conclusion, getting behind the popular belief, but declaring it to be true with
must.
Ahead of time, my mind goes to the notion that the conclusion is seen as a must-be-true based on nothing more than a popular lingering belief. Parallels abound from real life: religion (pick just about any one), horoscopes, vitamin C builds immunity, and so on. I think I am ready for the answers.
Ross2018 wrote:
(A) It attempts to support its conclusion solely by restating that conclusion in other words.
If you compare the first and last sentences of the passage, you can see that the proper conclusion, the one following
thus, takes a statement of fact and spins it into a conclusion, rather than
restating a conclusion. Compare:
Statement:
Most people believe that yawning is most powerfully triggered by seeing someone else yawn.Conclusion:
seeing someone else yawn must be the most irresistible cause of yawning.In the first case, we are talking about a belief that others hold; in the latter, a conclusion or opinion has been drawn by the speaker.
Ross2018 wrote:
(B) It cites the evidence of historians of popular culture in direct support of a claim that lies outside their area of expertise.
Historians of popular culture might very well be positioned to comment on the beliefs of popular culture in the past. Are we trying to reason that, say, only medical doctors are qualified to comment on what people believed
caused yawning in the past, simply because MDs have formally studied such physiological processes? That sounds a bit narrow in scope. The problem lies in the manner in which the speaker/author has drawn the conclusion, not in how the historians were brought up.
Ross2018 wrote:
(C) It makes a sweeping generalization about yawning based on evidence drawn from a limited number of atypical cases.
We have no basis for comparison about any
cases. I agree with the
sweeping generalization part, but the end of this answer choice is a big red flag.
Ross2018 wrote:
(D) It supports its conclusion by appealing solely to opinion in a matter that is largely factual.
Something causes people to yawn. The passage does not posit what that
something may be, whether the process is related to regulating the temperature of the brain, is a sign of sleepiness, or whatever. The conclusion, the
must belief discussed more at length above, is drawn from the opening line of the passage, an opinion that is stated as fact. This is the answer to our question.
Ross2018 wrote:
(E) It takes for granted that yawns have no cause other than the one it cites.
The conclusion states that
the most irresistible cause of yawning must be
seeing someone else yawn. The superlative
most indicates that other possible causes exist, plain and simple.
I hope that helps. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.
- Andrew