Necessary AssumptionDiff: Hard
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Even though humans produce pheromones like other animals do, a researcher claims they don't control us anymore because we have free will and choose our own behaviors.
Conclusion: Pheromones are merely evolutionary leftovers in humans rather than active determinants of behavior.
Reasoning: In animals, pheromones cause involuntary behavior, but humans possess free will and choose their actions, meaning psychological factors have replaced chemical ones.
Analysis: The researcher assumes that 'free will' and 'chemical influence' are mutually exclusive categories. The argument relies on the gap between having the capacity to choose and the chemicals actually being powerless. For the conclusion to hold, it must be true that if a behavior is a matter of choice or free will, it cannot also be dictated or significantly influenced by pheromones. Look for an assumption that connects the presence of psychological factors to the total displacement of chemical control.
Conclusion: Pheromones are merely evolutionary leftovers in humans rather than active determinants of behavior.
Reasoning: In animals, pheromones cause involuntary behavior, but humans possess free will and choose their actions, meaning psychological factors have replaced chemical ones.
Analysis: The researcher assumes that 'free will' and 'chemical influence' are mutually exclusive categories. The argument relies on the gap between having the capacity to choose and the chemicals actually being powerless. For the conclusion to hold, it must be true that if a behavior is a matter of choice or free will, it cannot also be dictated or significantly influenced by pheromones. Look for an assumption that connects the presence of psychological factors to the total displacement of chemical control.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage22.The researcher's argument requires the assumption that
Correct Answer
B
B states the needed bridge: voluntary action cannot have a chemical explanation. Negation test: If voluntary action can have a chemical explanation, then human sexual behavior could still be (partly) chemically controlled by pheromones, so the conclusion that pheromones are merely vestigial would no longer be supported.
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