Logical Reasoning

PT150 · S2 · Q25 Sociologists study folktales

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Sociologists study folktales because they provide a means of understanding the distinctive values of a culture.

Given that ...

the folktales in almost all cultures are adaptations of the same ancient narratives.

How can it be that ...

Sociologists study folktales because they provide a means of understanding the distinctive values of a culture?

Evaluate / Goal

The tension here is that if the folktales are being adapted from the same ancient narratives, then how would they show off the distinctive values of each culture?

This is an atypical Paradox question in the sense that the background claim appears last in the paragraph, and the surprising claim appears 1st.

We can imagine that the correct answer will probably say something about

25.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy in the information above?

  1. Because no single person is

    No Impact

    This helps explain why sociologists would see folktales as a reflection of a culture, not a reflection of an individual author. But it doesn't tell us how the same folktale, being adapted to cultures X, Y, and Z, could illuminate something distinctive about culture X as compared to culture Y or Z.

    5% picked this

  2. Folktales are often oral traditions

    Unrelated to Goal

    This seems to be explaining why folktales exist in the first place, but it has nothing to do with explaining how the same narratives could be adapted in distinctive ways that would reveal the values of the culture adapting them.

    4% picked this

  3. Correct

    The manner in which a

    Why this is right

    This allows us to resolve the tension between the two things we know about folktales: - they provide sociologists with a way to understand distinctive values of a culture but - they are almost all adapted from the same ancient narratives This is saying what we guessed, which is that "Yes, it starts from the same story. But the way a culture adapts that ancient story to its culture reveals information about that culture's values."

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

    77% picked this

  4. The ancient narratives persist largely

    Unrelated to Goal Explains Background

    This seems to be explaining why folktales tend to use the same ancient narratives. But it has nothing to do with explaining how sociologists infer distinctive values about different culture via folktales, if all the folktales are telling the same narrative.

    12% picked this

  5. Folktales are often morality tales,

    No Impact

    This looks more tempting since it connects folktales to values. But the tension we're trying to resolve is same narrative can show distinctive values? If an ancient narrative teaches children the value of hard work, and lots of different cultures have folktales adapted from this ancient narrative, then how is this folktale showing anything distinctive about the cultures using it? It would seem to show us more what sort of shared values there are.

    3% picked this

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