Q14

[towardvision]

I'm not sure why B is preferable to D,
or why D is clearly wrong.

Thanks!

[erin.sparke]

(D) is wrong because the author of passage B is more skeptical of evolutionary psychology, not "evolutionary theory in general." We cannot infer from passage B how its author views evolutionary theory in general.

(B), on the other hand, precisely mentions the topic and scope of both passages, that is, "the principles of evolutionary psychology."

Hope this helps!

[mlbrandow]

Yes, (D) is a terrible trap answer and I can't believe I picked it as well!

Does it honestly sound like the author of passage B is some evolution denier? He clearly believes in evolution at least generally (or at the very, very least, is committed to being open to it).

Above all, the author in passage B is concerned about the logic used, not so much the content or topic.

(B) states pretty much what we know-- the author of passage A believes in these principles, whereas the author of passage B (referring to it as "a kind of conspiracy theory") clearly doesn't commit himself to those.

Further, the tone of the answer choice is rather passive and easy to prove.

How easy would it be to prove that the author if skeptical of evolutionary theory in general? He would have to flatly say this.

Perhaps you picked it for the same reason I did (spaced out and misread the answer choice)?

[Joymarie.virga]

I don't understand why B is preferable to E. Could someone please explain?

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

This is a good one and going through it I was torn between answer choices (B) and (D) at least initially.

We can say that the author of passage A is committed to evolutionary psychology from lines 1-3. At first, it does appear from lines 35-36 that the author of passage B is skeptical of evolutionary psychology, but this view is then challenged from lines 49-53 where it becomes apparent that the author of passage B is simply unconvinced. Thus, answer choice (B) does a good job of describing the different attitudes of the two authors.

Incorrect Answers
(A) both authors seem interested in investigating the implications of evolutionary psychology.
(C) contradicts the passage as it is author B who is more willing to consider nonevolutionary explanations for human behavior (lines 59-61).
(D) is unsupported. The author of passage B is not skeptical but not convinced by these evolutionary explanations.
(E) is unsupported by the passage. While the author of passage B is unconvinced by the argument made by evolutionary psychologists, the motives of those psychologists are not addressed by the author of passage B.

[hana.kid]

I eliminated (D) and (E), because I felt the author of passage A wasn't skeptical of evolutionary theory nor was he critical of the motives of evolutionary psychologists, so I didn't think we could compare passage A and B in these ways. Was it okay for me to eliminate based on that? Or did I just get lucky?

[aescano209]

This is a good one and going through it I was torn between answer choices (B) and (D) at least initially.

We can say that the author of passage A is committed to evolutionary psychology from lines 1-3. At first, it does appear from lines 35-36 that the author of passage B is skeptical of evolutionary psychology, but this view is then challenged from lines 49-53 where it becomes apparent that the author of passage B is simply unconvinced. Thus, answer choice (B) does a good job of describing the different attitudes of the two authors.

Incorrect Answers
(A) both authors seem interested in investigating the implications of evolutionary psychology.
(C) contradicts the passage as it is author B who is more willing to consider nonevolutionary explanations for human behavior (lines 59-61).
(D) is unsupported. The author of passage B is not skeptical but not convinced by these evolutionary explanations.
(E) is unsupported by the passage. While the author of passage B is unconvinced by the argument made by evolutionary psychologists, the motives of those psychologists are not addressed by the author of passage B.

Hey Matt,

I just did this passage, and I too was stuck between B and D. I was kind of curious of your explanation as to why D is inccorect. You say that the author of passage B is not skeptical, but instead he just isn't convinced, but isn't being skeptical of something meaning your not completely convinced of something's truth or meaning? I know this seems menial, but I do notice that the lsat sometimes is particular about the answer choices and the words they choose to use. The definition that I foudn of skeptical was

skep·ti·cal
ˈskeptək(ə)l/
adjective
adjective: sceptical; adjective: skeptical

1.
not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations

To me for answer choice D it does seem that the author is skeptical, but I think he is not necessarily skeptical of evolutionary theory in general, but instead the application of that theory in the way evolutionary psychologists are using that theory to explain behavior. To me that is kind of what made D wrong, but I would like your input as to if this is true to any extent or if I am just nitpicking at this point.

[dennisgerrard]

(D) said "evolutionary theory in general." Both passages regard "evolutionary psychology " as subjects. "Evolutionary theory " includes "evolutionary psychology". Scope issue. hope it helps!