MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Question 67: Answer and Explanation

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Question: 67

2. Which of the following claims, if true, would most undermine the German anthropologists' view that botany is a valid model for anthropology?

  • A. Human beings inherently exist within a social context, and therefore there is no such thing as a people not influenced by culture.
  • B. Some botanists believe that the study of flowerless cryptograms can tell us little about the structure and function of flowering plants.
  • C. Alexander Braun abandoned Naturphilosophie early in his academic career, and therefore his ideas about botany have little in common with the views of that school of thought.
  • D. It is impossible to study theology without taking into account cultural influences.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

A This is a Weaken question.

Note: According to the last paragraph, anthropologists saw botany as a model because as botany "allowed one to observe the essence of nature relatively directly because plants do not disguise themselves with culture, as humans do," the study of so-called "natural peoples" (analogized to flowerless cryptograms) allowed anthropologists to understand culture and humanity through studying people who supposedly had no culture.

A: Yes. The anthropologists saw botany as a model, according to the passage, largely because they believed that one could learn about an "unchanging essence of humanity" (paragraph 1) by studying people with no culture, just as botanists can learn about an "essence of nature" by studying plants with no flowers. If there is no such thing as a people without culture, however, this would significantly undermine the validity of botany as a model for anthropology.

B: No. This choice does not go far enough to undermine the anthropologists' view. "Some botanists" could be two or three, and we don't know from the answer choice that their claim is valid. Beware of choices that are too weak to have a significant impact when answering Strengthen and Weaken questions.

C: No. While Braun is identified as a "latter-day Naturphilosoph," the relevance of his views to those of the anthropologists does not depend on Braun representing that school of thought (keep in mind that the anthropologists rejected much of Naturphilosophie (paragraph 2).

D: No. This choice is not relevant to the question. The anthropologists believed that theology was not a legitimate part of natural science (paragraph 4). Therefore, even if the study of theology requires the study of culture, this has no impact on the anthropologists' views on the study of humanity within natural science.

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