Reading Comprehension

PT102 · S1 · P4 · Q26 Organicist vs. Analytic

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Scientists typically advocate the analytic method of studying complex systems: systems are divided into component parts that are investigated separately.

Topic

The debate between the analytic method and organicism in studying complex systems.

Framework

Challenge Position

Main Point

The author challenges the organicists' rejection of the analytic method, arguing that organicists misunderstood how the analytic method actually works and failed to provide valid reasons for abandoning it. ( — final sentence)

P1: Introduction to Analytic Method and Organicist Critique

Scientists usually break down complex systems to study their parts individually (analytic method), but 19th-century critics (organicists) argued this loses essential complexity. They introduced organicism, which sees parts as interdependent and defined by the whole.

P2: Theory of Internal Relations

Organicism relies on the theory of internal relations: entities are fundamentally defined by their relationships within a whole, and these relationships alter the very nature of the entities involved.

P3: Issues with Internal Relations

Problem: Not every property an entity has counts as a defining characteristic; entities can have relationships that don't actually change their core identity.

26.

Which one of the following is a principle upon which the author bases an argument against the theory of internal relations?

  1. An adequate theory of complex

    Bad Trigger Match

    If we contrapose this, then it will fittingly have a right side that sounds like the author's assessment that internal relations is an inadequate theory: theory doesn't define the not an adequate entities of which the ⇢ theory of system is composed complex systems But that trigger doesn't match anything. The author never complained that the theory of internal relations doesn't define the entities of which a system is composed.

    23% picked this

  2. Correct

    An acceptable theory cannot have

    Why this is right

    If we contrapose this, then it will fittingly have a right side that sounds like the author's assessment that internal relations is an unacceptable theory: theory has consequences not an that contradict the → acceptable basic purpose of the theory theory Do the consequences of internal relations contradict its basic purpose? What is the purpose of organicism and the theory of internal relations? It's to better understand a complex system. Since the author says in the 4th paragraph that one consequence of the theory of internal relations is that it renders the acquisition of knowledge impossible, it looks like internal relations has a consequence that contradicts its basic purpose. It's a theory of how to go about gaining knowledge that makes the acquisition of knowledge impossible. Thus, it's unacceptable.

    Skill tested: Principle · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    46% picked this

  3. An adequate method of study

    Bad Trigger Match

    If we contrapose this, then it will fittingly have a right side that sounds like the author's assessment that internal relations is an inadequate theory: theory doesn't reveal the not an adequate actual complexity of → method of studying the systems it studies complex systems But that trigger doesn't match anything. The author never complained that the theory of internal relations doesn't reveal the actual complexity of the system it studies. It just said, "Not all properties of an entity are defining characteristics" and "this theory makes the acquisition of knowledge seem impossible".

    9% picked this

  4. An acceptable theory must describe

    Bad Trigger Match

    If we contrapose this, we get: theory doesn't describe the not an the laws and initial conditions → acceptable of complex systems theory But that trigger doesn't match anything. The author never complained that the theory of internal relations doesn't describe the laws and initial conditions of complex systems. It just said, "Not all properties of an entity are defining characteristics" and "this theory makes the acquisition of knowledge seem impossible".

    13% picked this

  5. An acceptable method of studying

    Bad Trigger Match

    If we contrapose this, we get: theory studies parts of the not an system in isolation from the → acceptable system as a whole method But that trigger doesn't match internal relations. That matches the analytic method. This answer would be a principle that makes the analytic method seem like an unacceptable method.

    10% picked this

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