It is a widespread belief in modern evolutionary biology that evolutio

Question

It is a widespread belief in modern evolutionary biology that evolution has shaped not only the shapes of our bodies but also our “instinctive” behaviors that come to the fore when we experience different constraining situations. The role of evolution in this process is not to dictate our behavior when we can think rationally, but rather to dictate our actions when we act under severe constraints and end up displaying these instinctive behaviors—ways of feeling, thinking, and acting that “come naturally” in archetypal situations in any culture. Our “frailties”—instincts such as rage, fear, greed, gluttony, joy, lust, and love—may be a very mixed assortment, but they share at least one immediate quality: we are, as we say, “in the grip” of them. And thus, they give us our sense of constraints.

One undeniable fact about these frailties is that some of these frailties are presently maladaptive. Ironically, one clear example of this maladaptiveness is our ever-increasing need for security. Yet beneath the overlay of cultural detail, even these maladaptive frailties, too, are said to be biological in direction, and are therefore as natural to us as are our appendixes. We would need to thoroughly comprehend the origin of these maladaptive frailties in order to understand how badly they guide us now. And we might then begin to resist the pressure of these maladaptive frailties in our distant future.    1 
 1. While discussing maladaptive frailties, the author assumes which one of the following?

I. Evolution does not favor the emergence of adaptive frailties over the emergence of maladaptive frailties
II. A few maladaptive frailties, once acquired, make the emergence of other maladaptive frailties more likely
III. Changes in the total human environment can outpace evolutionary change

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

2 
 2. The author is primarily concerned with:

A. presenting an overview of those human frailties that impose constraints on human behavior
B. summarizing a general position on human frailties and presenting his own stance
C. outlining a new claim about foundations of human behavior with a special focus on maladaptive frailties and speculating on their origins
D. pointing out those human frailties that give us a sense of our constraints and presenting the probable outcome of such constricting behaviors
E. suggesting ways to deal with a problem and predicting the eventual consequences of not doing so

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hello  neerajgupta

Welcome to GMAT Club and thank you for being part of this community.

For any topic you want to discuss or see the explanation please first search that topic in the forum if that certain topic is not already discussed then post it according to the forum rules. For RC forum rules please click  here.

You can also click on the edit button of the main post above and see which codes I have used to get this topic in the shape.

Let me know if you have any questions related to this passage or RC formatting.

I am happy to help

Thank you!

desertEagle · Answer

Thanks  Sajjad1994  for the welcome.

This community is very helpful to me and I hope I can be as helpful to the community as it is to me.

If possible kindly tell me how to post questions in the format that most questions are posted with clock and answer options. Then it may reduce your workload and help others as well.

Thanks

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Please follow the post in the link below (Read the post thoroughly); I hope you will be left with no questions but if you still have any questions please let me know. https://gmatclub.com/forum/rc-forum-rul ... 55874.html Thank you

Vanshikadaga · Answer

Hi,

Can You provide answers to this RC?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OAs to this passage are D to the first question and C to the second question.

GoodDay22 · Answer

HI Sajjad1994,

If possible, could you share the OE?

Thanks

carcass · Answer

Of which one ?/ or both ?

GoodDay22 · Answer

HI Sajjad1994,

Can you share both?

Best,

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Hello GoodDay22

I don't have the OE to this question; can you tell me where you are faulting I might try on my own to answer your question.

Thank you!

carcass · Answer

The first to say about his passage that in my humble opinion it is BAD

You can barely infer the first question, particularly I, and you have to stretch your mental muscle quite a lot

Look at this phrase

Our “frailties”—instincts such as rage, fear, greed, gluttony, joy, lust, and love—may be a very mixed assortment,

mixed assortment does not necessarily mean the I assumption

I. Evolution does not favor the emergence of adaptive frailties over the emergence of maladaptive frailties

maybe our maladaptive are in the ratio 1/90 good /bad but reading the I my feeling is they are 50/50 or 49/51 or around that. Because the passage says: very mixed.

However , assuming that, I and II are correct but the II is too extreme.

D is the answer

better to move on from these passages

carcass · Answer

2. The author is primarily concerned with:

A. presenting an  overview of those human frailties that impose constraints on human behavior

not specifically this

B.  summarizing a general position on human frailties and presenting his own stance

no position or stance

C. outlining a  new claim  about foundations of human behavior with a special focus on maladaptive frailties and  speculating on their origins

sure but not quite sure in the passage about speculating origins. I would say C is the best among the others

D. pointing out those human frailties that give us a sense of our constraints and presenting the probable outcome of such constricting behaviors

just details

E. suggesting ways to deal with a problem and predicting the eventual consequences of not doing so

out of scope

GoodDay22 · Answer

Thanks Sajjad1994,

I want to compare my explanations with OEs to see whether my explanations work.

Best,

GoodDay22 · Answer

Hi Carcass,

Thank you

Best,

carcass · Answer

Ok Sir

the problem is the following: is the passage is NOt the best, the OE are NOT the best as well. For sure.

Moreover, prep company bespoke their explanations to match the passage (of course).

However, if the foundation is wrong , wrong will be the rest. I would be skeptical of the OE, frankly for the reasons above

Sleepy123 · Answer

please explain question 1 of the passage

snamehra · Answer

Could you please let me know why the answer to 1st question is D?

Ps1810 · Answer

I think the answer to second question, which is C, is not the best as it starts with NEW CLAIM but the very first line of the passage says that it's a wide spread belief?
Please let me know if I went wrong somewhere!
Thanks in advance!

DishaAgarwal12 · Answer

Hi, please provide detailed solution to this question

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Just for your information: This is not a good quality question.

It is a widespread belief in modern evolutionary biology that evolutio

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