Reading Passage Question

The world can be classified in different ways, depending on one's interests and principles of classification. The classifications (also known as taxonomies) in turn determine which comparisons seem natural or unnatural, which literal or analogical. For example, it has been common to classify living creatures into three distinct groups—plants, animals, and humans. According to this classification, human beings are not a special kind of animal, nor animals a special kind of plant. Thus any comparisons between the three groups are strictly analogical. Reasoning from inheritance in garden peas to inheritance in fruit flies, and from these two species to inheritance in human beings, is sheer poetic metaphor.

Another mode of classifying living creatures is commonly attributed to Aristotle. Instead of treating plants, animals, and humans as distinct groups, they are nested. All living creatures possess a vegetative soul that enables them to grow and metabolize. Of these, some also have a sensory soul that enables them to sense their environments and move. One species also has a rational soul that is capable of true understanding. Thus, human beings are a special sort of animal, and animals are a special sort of plant. Given this classification, reasoning from human beings to all other species with respect to the attributes of the vegetative soul is legitimate, reasoning from human beings to other animals with respect to the attributes of the sensory soul is also legitimate, but reasoning from the rational characteristics of the human species to any other species is merely analogical. According to both classifications, the human species is unique. In the first, it has a kingdom all to itself; in the second, it stands at the pinnacle of the taxonomic hierarchy.

Homo sapiens is unique. All species are. But this sort of uniqueness is not enough for many (probably most) people, philosophers included. For some reason, it is very important that the species to which we belong be uniquely unique. It is of utmost importance that the human species be insulated from all other species with respect to how we explain certain qualities. Human beings clearly are capable of developing and learning languages. For some reason, it is very important that the waggle dance performed by bees * not count as a genuine language. I have never been able to understand why. I happen to think that the waggle dance differs from human languages to such a degree that little is gained by terming them both "languages," but even if "language" is so defined that the waggle dance slips in, bees still remain bees. It is equally important to some that no other species use tools. No matter how ingenious other species get in the manipulation of objects in their environment, it is absolutely essential that nothing they do count as "tool use." I, however, fail to see what difference it makes whether any of these devices such as probes and anvils, etc. are really tools. All the species involved remain distinct biological species no matter what decisions are made. Similar observations hold for rationality and anything a computer might do.

“The world can be classified in different ways”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. According to the author, what is most responsible for influencing our perception of a comparison between species?

1. The behavior of the organisms in their natural environment
2. The organizational scheme imposed on the living world by researchers and philosophers
3. The style of language used by scientists in presenting their research
4. The sophistication of the communication between organisms
5. The magnitude of hierarchical distance between a species and Homo sapiens

2. Which of the following is NOT possible within an Aristotelian classification scheme?

1. Two species that are alike in having sensory souls but differ in that one lacks a rational soul
2. Two species that are alike in having vegetative souls but differ in that only one has a sensory soul
3. A species having a vegetative soul while lacking sensory and rational souls
4. A species having vegetative and rational souls while lacking a sensory soul
5. A species having vegetative and sensory souls while lacking a rational soul

3. Which of the following comparisons would be "legitimate" for all living organisms according to the Aristotelian scheme described in paragraph two?

1. Comparisons based on the vegetative soul
2. Comparisons based on the sensory soul
3. Comparisons based on the rational soul

1. I only
2. II only
3. III only
4. II and III only
5. I, II, and III

4. If the author had wished to explain why "most" people (Highlighted) feel the way they do, the explanation would have probably focused on the

1. reality of distinct biological species
2. most recent advances in biological research
3. behavioral similarities between Homo sapiens and other species
4. role of language in the development of technology
5. lack of objectivity in the classification of Homo sapiens

5. The author uses the words "For some reason" (Highlighted) to express

1. rage
2. disapproval
3. despair
4. sympathy
5. uncertainty

6. Which best summarizes the idea of "uniquely unique" (Highlighted)?

1. We are unique in the same way that all other species are unique.
2. We are defined by attributes that we alone possess and that are qualitatively different from those of other species.
3. We are, by virtue of our elevated rank, insulated from many of the problems of survival faced by less sophisticated species.
4. Our awareness of our uniqueness defines us as a rational species.
5. Our apparently unique status is an unintended by-product of classification systems.

7. In the third paragraph, the author criticizes those who believe that

1. the similarities between Homo sapiens and other species are more significant than their differences
2. the differences between Homo sapiens and other animals are those of degree, not kind
3. Homo sapiens and animals belong to separate and distinct divisions of the living world
4. Homo sapiens and animals have the ability to control their environment
5. Homo sapiens and other organisms can be arranged in Aristotelian nested groups

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