#26 - Concept Reference, Must Be True—Principle

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[BMM2021]

Hi, could this one be explained?

I understand why B is an appropriate principle which relates to the passage's discussion in paragraph 4. However, what makes A incorrect?

The author states the problem with the internal relations theory is that it makes knowledge acquisition impossible. The author continues in the second sentence of paragraph four: "To truly know an entity, we must know all of its relationships..." I took this combination of statements (and paragraph four as a whole) as evidence of an assumption being made by the author that knowledge acquisition = truly knowing an entity (which is a part of a complex system). Since the internal relations theory dictates that we must comprehend all of the systems of which the entity is a part before knowing the entity, the author concludes the theory makes it impossible to know an entity. It seems that the theory's failure to allow for entity-definition is the author's "ultimate difficulty" with it.

I completely understand how answer B captures this concept, but it seems like the application of Answer A's principle would lead the author to the same conclusion. If a theory must define all the entities within a complex system, and the internal relations theory makes doing so impossible, then the theory must fail to be adequate/acceptable.

Am I reading A incorrectly, or the passage itself? Thanks for any insight.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

I think you are getting a bit turned around here, BMM. This is a hard passage because there are a lot of different viewpoints floating around. This particular question takes advantage of that. The question is asking us a principle of the author. The author is, generally, opposed to the organicists who believe in the theory of internal relations. The organicists are the ones who believe answer choice (A). They are all about knowing each and every entity in a complex system. But the author thinks this is both impossible, and unnecessary. Paragraph 4 is all about that impossibility, and it reflected well in answer choice (B).

Personally, I will tell you that viewpoints are my hardest area to track in RC without paper/markings. Passages will very frequently contain multiple viewpoints (this one has 3!) and it's critical to track the differences between those viewpoints. Because I find it hard to track, it's a large part of my work reading and marking up a passage. I highly recommend clearly tracking those viewpoints to improve your understanding of the passages.

Hope that helps!

[miriamson07]

Hello,

I do see how answer choice B is the best among the ones given. However, I was very hesitant about the part “its basic purpose” in answer choice B. I assumed that any theory’s basic purpose would involve acquisition of knowledge, so I chose the answer choice. However, I don’t see any support for this idea in the passage itself. Is this something we are supposed to make a reasonable assumption about, or is answer choice B right for a different reason?

Thank you!!

[Amber Thomas]

Hi miriamson07!

The passage starts of by telling us that, in order to study complex systems, scientists generally analyze them by dividing them into their individual parts in order to understand the whole. However, organicism advocates that the whole of the system determines the nature of its parts, and not the other way around. Therefore, we ought to study whole systems by way of the relationships between entities therein.

Now, let's look at lines 34-41: "The ultimate difficulty with the theory of internal relations is that it renders the acquisition of knowledge impossible. To truly know an entity, we must know all of its relationships; but because the entity is related to everything in each whole of which it is a part, these wholes must be known completely before the entity can be known. This seems to be a prerequisite impossible to satisfy."

To simplify: The theory of internal relationships/organicism seek to understand complex systems. However, we will never be able to fully understand complex systems through using the theory of internal relationships/organicism. This is because it is impossible to understand every single internal relationship within a complex system, and according to the theory of internal relationships/organicism, this is the only way to understand a complex system.

The theory of internal relationships/organicism therefore cannot achieve it's purpose, thereby leading us to Answer Choice B: "An acceptable theory cannot have consequences that contradict its basic purpose."

I hope this helps!