Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 23:41 It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 23:41
Home
GMAT
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Rewards
Chat
My Profile
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
   1   2 
655-705 Level|   Long Passage|   Science|      
avatar
pk6969
avatar
Joined: 25 May 2020
Last visit: 02 Jan 2022
Posts: 136
Own Kudos:
14
 [1]
Given Kudos: 70
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, General Management
Schools: Babson CBS '23 Broad
GPA: 3.2
Schools: Babson CBS '23 Broad
Posts: 136
Kudos: 14
 [1]
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 24 Jun 2021, 03:37
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Need help in Question 3, was totally blown by the question. Any help?
User avatar
Sajjad1994
User avatar
GRE Forum Moderator
Joined: 02 Nov 2016
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 17,289
Own Kudos:
49,297
Given Kudos: 6,179
GPA: 3.62
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Posts: 17,289
Kudos: 49,297
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 24 Jun 2021, 10:29
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
pk6969
Need help in Question 3, was totally blown by the question. Any help?
Show more

Please read the OE in the post in the link below.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-brain-co ... l#p2561873

Thank you
avatar
datemike
avatar
Current Student
Joined: 03 May 2020
Last visit: 19 Nov 2021
Posts: 29
Own Kudos:
11
 [1]
Given Kudos: 47
Location: India
Schools: ISB '23 (A)
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V36
GPA: 3.63
Schools: ISB '23 (A)
GMAT 1: 700 Q49 V36
Posts: 29
Kudos: 11
 [1]
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 13 Jul 2021, 09:59
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
pk6969
Need help in Question 3, was totally blown by the question. Any help?
Show more

Trying to attempt Question 3 here(which I got wrong initially as well) after not finding a satisfactory solution.(closest I
understood was the one by @mKSR )

Refer to this snippet:
"Because humans are capable of self-reflection, we feel that our sensory perception and muscle activity are guided by apparent purposiveness. However, both our sense of purpose and complex consciousness may well be genetically engineered. Our genes have created our brains, muscles, and sensory organs to help us and may also have created a kind of “conscious-purpose machine”

This statement has a causal relationship.
Cause: humans are capable of self-reflection
Effect: The author states that one may think the effect is that "sensory perception and muscle activity" are guided by "apparent purposiveness" BUT they are/may be in fact genetically engineered. And the fact that they are genetically engineered is what results into humans being conscious.

Note that the cause is not doubted here but the effect of it is. This is why I, and possibly you found it hard to believe that humans being capable of self-reflection is the main cause and hence the answer.

Option D while very close is incorrect. Consider below relationship:
genetically engineered creates consciousness(conscious-purpose machine) which further directs us to utilize survival drives.
Now what Option D states is that "A genetically determined set of survival drives in humans" is the source of consciousness- which is the opposite of what author states.

I do doubt if I would get this correct real-time :P Hope this helps!
User avatar
gmatimothy
User avatar
Joined: 18 Apr 2022
Last visit: 19 Dec 2022
Posts: 111
Own Kudos:
9
Given Kudos: 704
Location: United States
Posts: 111
Kudos: 9
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 09 Jun 2022, 17:59
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
For Q2, I knew the primary purpose of the passage is to highlight genes and their control but didn't pick (A) because the 1st paragraph didn't mention anything about genes. My rule of thumb for primary purpose questions was to pick an answer that is applicable to every single paragraph of the passage. Any insights?
User avatar
Sonia2023
User avatar
Joined: 20 Feb 2022
Last visit: 12 Nov 2024
Posts: 61
Own Kudos:
27
Given Kudos: 88
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, Other
Posts: 61
Kudos: 27
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 21 Oct 2023, 22:20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Which of the following does the author mention as the source for an individual’s awareness of his or her own consciousness?

A) Information the sensory organs send to the brain
B) The human brain’s power to bring about purposiveness in behavior
C) The ability of human beings to be self-reflective
D) A genetically determined set of survival drives in humans
E) Skill in recognizing perceptual patterns

KarishmaB GMATNinja - your inputs on the Question 3?

I am confused with what is the exact reason for the correct answer C. Is the question asking what does the individual thinks and not the author?
If the former is true then choice C makes sense:

Because humans are capable of self-reflection, we feel that our sensory perception and muscle activity are guided by apparent purposiveness. --- Matches with C.

Please clarify.
Thank you :)
User avatar
KarishmaB
User avatar
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 16,267
Own Kudos:
76,984
 [2]
Given Kudos: 482
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,267
Kudos: 76,984
 [2]
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 23 Oct 2023, 03:48
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Asp23
Which of the following does the author mention as the source for an individual’s awareness of his or her own consciousness?

A) Information the sensory organs send to the brain
B) The human brain’s power to bring about purposiveness in behavior
C) The ability of human beings to be self-reflective
D) A genetically determined set of survival drives in humans
E) Skill in recognizing perceptual patterns

KarishmaB GMATNinja - your inputs on the Question 3?


I am confused with what is the exact reason for the correct answer C. Is the question asking what does the individual thinks and not the author?
If the former is true then choice C makes sense:

Because humans are capable of self-reflection, we feel that our sensory perception and muscle activity are guided by apparent purposiveness. --- Matches with C.

Please clarify.
Thank you :)
Show more

The question is: As per the author, what is the source of our awareness of our consciousness? (Not source of our consciousness, but source of our awareness of consciousness)

From the passage:
Because humans are capable of self-reflection, we feel that our sensory perception and muscle activity are guided by apparent purposiveness. However, both our sense of purpose and complex consciousness may well be genetically engineered.

Because we are able to self-reflect, we feel that purpose guides our senses and muscle activity (e.g. when we see a harmful substance, we avoid it by walking away from it for the purpose of self preservation).
But, the author says that sense of purpose and complex consciousness may have been created by genes.

...Our genes have created our brains, muscles, and sensory organs to help us and may also have created a kind of “conscious-purpose machine” to direct us to live and reproduce by means of innate drives

The genes have created a 'conscious - purpose machine' which creates 'drives' that are responsible to direct us to live and reproduce.

Hence neither 'genes' nor 'drives' make us aware of our consciousness. Hence (D) doesn't work.

The passage just mentions "because we are capable of self-reflection,..."
It is an indirect implication that because we are capable of self-reflection, we are aware of our consciousness and we think that purpose guides us etc.

But I was certainly a bit baffled so I looked at the official solution and saw that it mentions: "Our own introspection tells us that we are indeed conscious, and we know we behave as if we are motivated by purposes."
But this is not mentioned in the passage as given above. Perhaps it was missed by the OP? Had this sentence been there, then the answer (C) would make complete sense.
User avatar
Leo_1511
User avatar
Joined: 28 Nov 2022
Last visit: 01 Apr 2025
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
13
Given Kudos: 6
Posts: 17
Kudos: 13
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 01 Aug 2024, 08:39
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi @GMATNinja can you please explain Q3?
User avatar
Leo_1511
User avatar
Joined: 28 Nov 2022
Last visit: 01 Apr 2025
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
13
Given Kudos: 6
Posts: 17
Kudos: 13
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 01 Aug 2024, 08:41
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
coreyander

The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the control and coordination of muscle contractions. The brain is connected to the muscles by means of motor nerves. This leads to the survival of an animal only if the timing of muscle contractions bears some relation to purpose. An animal must contract its jaw muscles when its jaw contains something worth biting and contract its leg muscles when there is something worth running to or away from. Animals that have survived are those equipped with sense organs—the eyes, ears, taste buds, skin, and nose—that translate patterns of physical events into nerve impulses in the brain. The brain is connected to the sense organs by sensory nerves. The workings of the sensory system are extremely complex; human senses can achieve more sophisticated feats of pattern recognition than computers; if this were not the case, many tasks now done by people could be done by computers. However, it will be decades before the functions of human sense organs can be duplicated by machines.

Because humans are capable of self-reflection, we feel that our sensory perception and muscle activity are guided by apparent purposiveness. However, both our sense of purpose and complex consciousness may well be genetically engineered. Our genes have created our brains, muscles, and sensory organs to help us and may also have created a kind of “conscious-purpose machine” to direct us to live and reproduce by means of innate drives—hunger, sexuality, communication, fear, and aggression. This machine may also direct higher-level interpretations of these drives. That direction of consciousness is the ultimate genetic control.


1) The passage supplies information to answer which of the following questions?

A) By what means do the sensory nerves interpret what an individual sees?
B) How will computers be able to simulate the functions of the human brain?
C) What are the major differences between human and animal sense organs?
D) What connects the brain to the motor and sensory nerves?
E) Of what value is the sensorimotor system to the adaptive success of animals?

2) The primary purpose of the passage is to

A) argue that genes may control complex as well as basic brain functions
B) explain the relationship between sensory and motor operations of the brain
C) refute a theory about human perception and consciousness
D) explain the principal elements of the adaptive behavior of motor action
E) outline the difference between human and nonhuman information processing

Which of the following does the author mention as the source for an individual’s awareness of his or her own consciousness?

A) Information the sensory organs send to the brain
B) The human brain’s power to bring about purposiveness in behavior
C) The ability of human beings to be self-reflective
D) A genetically determined set of survival drives in humans
E) Skill in recognizing perceptual patterns


ID 16911
Show more
­Hi GMATNinja and KarishmaB can you please explain 3rd Question?
User avatar
GMATNinja
User avatar
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
Joined: 13 Aug 2009
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 7,445
Own Kudos:
69,780
 [1]
Given Kudos: 2,060
Status: GMAT/GRE/LSAT tutors
Location: United States (CO)
GMAT 1: 780 Q51 V46
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 800 Q51 V51
GRE 1: Q170 V170
GRE 2: Q170 V170
Posts: 7,445
Kudos: 69,780
 [1]
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 07 Aug 2024, 13:54
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Leo_1511
Hi @‌GMATNinja can you please explain Q3?
Show more

­Did you see this post by the always-amazing KarishmaB? (Hi, Karishma!) Also, it appears that a chunk of the passage is missing, so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this one.­
User avatar
Leo_1511
User avatar
Joined: 28 Nov 2022
Last visit: 01 Apr 2025
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
13
Given Kudos: 6
Posts: 17
Kudos: 13
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 10 Aug 2024, 02:36
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
GMATNinja

Leo_1511
Hi @‌GMATNinja can you please explain Q3?
­Did you see this post by the always-amazing KarishmaB? (Hi, Karishma!) Also, it appears that a chunk of the passage is missing, so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over this one.­
Show more
­Thank you! Yes I read it and now i do understand.
User avatar
Gaurav07
User avatar
Joined: 15 May 2021
Last visit: 18 Nov 2025
Posts: 36
Own Kudos:
3
Given Kudos: 49
Location: India
Schools: Smith (A)
GPA: 4
Schools: Smith (A)
Posts: 36
Kudos: 3
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 14 Oct 2024, 07:05
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hey did you give the test? How much was the score?
richirish
Good passage, 4 mins all correct, will be happy to help if required, 700+ questions for sure
Show more
User avatar
kanikaa9
User avatar
Joined: 19 Aug 2023
Last visit: 02 Jul 2025
Posts: 97
Own Kudos:
51
Given Kudos: 708
Location: India
WE:Consulting (Consulting)
Posts: 97
Kudos: 51
The brain contributes to the adaptive success of animals through the c 12 May 2025, 03:26
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
For Q3
C is correct
The author is saying that because we can think about our own thoughts and actions (self-reflection), we naturally feel like our senses (seeing, touching, etc.) and our movements have a goal or a reason behind them. It makes us feel like we're not just reacting to the world, but actively engaging with it with intention.

In short, self-reflection is like having a "why" button in your brain that makes you feel like there's a purpose to what you see and what you do, and that's a big part of what makes us aware of our own consciousness.
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7445 posts
GMATNinjaTwo
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
234 posts
Sajjad1994
GRE Forum Moderator
17289 posts
miag
188 posts