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- Mon May 23, 2016 3:34 pm
#25365
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10516)
The correct answer choice is (D)
This question asks us to identify an assertion from passage A that most clearly illustrates why the author of passage B calls evolutionary psychology a “conspiracy theory” (lines 35-36).
As with other Specific Reference questions, it is essential to examine the general context in which the textual referent is made. Immediately after the semicolon on line 36, the author elaborates on her charge by suggesting that evolutionary psychology “attempts to explain behavior by imputing an interest (the proliferation of genes) that the agent of the behavior does not openly acknowledge” (lines 36-38). The author then provides an example of a seemingly altruistic behavior (“your unsurprising interest in your child’s well-being”) as “your genes’ conspiracy to propagate themselves” (lines 41-42, italics mine). Answering this question correctly would require us to identify an assertion from passage A whose meaning is identical to the description of the selfish gene theory provided in the first paragraph of passage B.
Answer choice (A): The intent to examine human behavior from an evolutionary perspective is too broad to illustrate what the author of passage B calls a “conspiracy theory.” The author of passage B does not dispute the explanatory potential of the theory of evolution.
Answer choice (B): The fact that altruism presents a difficult problem for evolutionary psychology is something both authors are likely to agree on. This difficulty does not illustrate why the author of passage B calls evolutionary psychology a “conspiracy theory.”
Answer choice (C): This answer choice restates the definition of altruistic behavior from lines 10-12. The author of passage B never considered altruism itself to be a reason for calling evolutionary psychology a “conspiracy theory.” Rather, it is the evolutionary psychologists’ explanation of how altruism developed that gave rise to this label.
Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. In the first paragraph of passage B, the author elaborates on her decision to call evolutionary psychology a “conspiracy theory” by describing as conspiracy the genes’ selfish interest in propagating themselves (lines 41-42). This matches the description provided in lines 22-26 of passage A, where seemingly unselfish actions (a mother’s rushing to help an injured child) are described as being influenced by genes that promote their own self-propagation.
Answer choice (E): The psychological states brought about in early humans by cues of kinship or familiarity may have an evolutionary explanation, but this is not the “conspiracy theory” criticized by the author of passage B. The author is far more specific in her criticism: she regards as conspiratorial the attempt to explain behavior by imputing an interest (the proliferation of genes) that the agent of the behavior does not openly acknowledge (lines 36-38).
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10516)
The correct answer choice is (D)
This question asks us to identify an assertion from passage A that most clearly illustrates why the author of passage B calls evolutionary psychology a “conspiracy theory” (lines 35-36).
As with other Specific Reference questions, it is essential to examine the general context in which the textual referent is made. Immediately after the semicolon on line 36, the author elaborates on her charge by suggesting that evolutionary psychology “attempts to explain behavior by imputing an interest (the proliferation of genes) that the agent of the behavior does not openly acknowledge” (lines 36-38). The author then provides an example of a seemingly altruistic behavior (“your unsurprising interest in your child’s well-being”) as “your genes’ conspiracy to propagate themselves” (lines 41-42, italics mine). Answering this question correctly would require us to identify an assertion from passage A whose meaning is identical to the description of the selfish gene theory provided in the first paragraph of passage B.
Answer choice (A): The intent to examine human behavior from an evolutionary perspective is too broad to illustrate what the author of passage B calls a “conspiracy theory.” The author of passage B does not dispute the explanatory potential of the theory of evolution.
Answer choice (B): The fact that altruism presents a difficult problem for evolutionary psychology is something both authors are likely to agree on. This difficulty does not illustrate why the author of passage B calls evolutionary psychology a “conspiracy theory.”
Answer choice (C): This answer choice restates the definition of altruistic behavior from lines 10-12. The author of passage B never considered altruism itself to be a reason for calling evolutionary psychology a “conspiracy theory.” Rather, it is the evolutionary psychologists’ explanation of how altruism developed that gave rise to this label.
Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. In the first paragraph of passage B, the author elaborates on her decision to call evolutionary psychology a “conspiracy theory” by describing as conspiracy the genes’ selfish interest in propagating themselves (lines 41-42). This matches the description provided in lines 22-26 of passage A, where seemingly unselfish actions (a mother’s rushing to help an injured child) are described as being influenced by genes that promote their own self-propagation.
Answer choice (E): The psychological states brought about in early humans by cues of kinship or familiarity may have an evolutionary explanation, but this is not the “conspiracy theory” criticized by the author of passage B. The author is far more specific in her criticism: she regards as conspiratorial the attempt to explain behavior by imputing an interest (the proliferation of genes) that the agent of the behavior does not openly acknowledge (lines 36-38).