Sufficient AssumptionDiff: Hard
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Money is everywhere, just like language. But since we aren't born with a 'money instinct' and had to invent it, it probably popped up in several different places on its own.
Conclusion: It is likely that the invention of money happened independently within multiple different societies.
Reasoning: Money is found in almost every society, but unlike language, which is an innate human ability, money is a deliberate human invention.
Analysis: The argument identifies a gap between something being 'universal' and it being 'invented multiple times.' The author ignores the possibility of 'diffusion'—the idea that one clever society invented money and then everyone else simply copied the idea. To make this conclusion follow logically, we need a premise that rules out this 'copycat' scenario. Look for an answer that guarantees that if an artificial invention is universal, it must have had multiple points of origin.
Conclusion: It is likely that the invention of money happened independently within multiple different societies.
Reasoning: Money is found in almost every society, but unlike language, which is an innate human ability, money is a deliberate human invention.
Analysis: The argument identifies a gap between something being 'universal' and it being 'invented multiple times.' The author ignores the possibility of 'diffusion'—the idea that one clever society invented money and then everyone else simply copied the idea. To make this conclusion follow logically, we need a premise that rules out this 'copycat' scenario. Look for an answer that guarantees that if an artificial invention is universal, it must have had multiple points of origin.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage22.The argument's conclusion is properly drawn if which one of the following is assumed?
Correct Answer
A
If some societies were geographically isolated enough not to have been influenced by any other society, yet money is universal, those isolated societies must have invented money themselves. Since the statement refers to multiple societies, it guarantees more than one independent origin, making the conclusion properly drawn.
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