Critical Reasoning

Silverman: All music is based on a few main systems of scale building. Clearly, if the popularity of a musical scale were a result of social conditioning, we would expect, given the diversity of social systems, a diverse mixture of diatonic and non-diatonic scales in the world's music. Yet diatonic scales have always dominated the music of most of the world. Therefore, the popularity of diatonic music can be attributed only to innate dispositions of the human mind.

Silverman's argument is most vulnerable to critism on the grounds that it fails to

A. Consider the possibility that some people appreciate non-diatonic music more than they do diatonic music.

B. Explain how innate dispositions increase appreciation of non-diatonic music.

C. Explain the existence of diatonic scales as well as the exisitence of non-diatonic scales.

D. consider that innate dispositions and social conditioning could jointly affect the popularity of a type of music.

E. Consider whether any appreciation of non-diatonic music is demonstrated by some nonhuman spcies of animals.












Why A is wrong? Also, I'm confusing about the terms of "social conditioning" and "social systems". Does "Social systems" relate to the "social conditioning"?

Correct Answer: D

Author says "if the popularity of a musical scale were a result of social conditioning" but in the end he says "popularity of diatonic music can be attributed only to innate dispositions of the human mind.". The flaw is that i does not mention that "innate dispositions of the human mind" can also affect popularity and this is what stated in D.

A - is irrelevant because we need to find a flaw in the reasoning "diatonic scales have always dominated the music of most of the world" BUT option A suggests oppo. of this which contradicts fact given in arg. and moreover we are not bothered by it.

B - is out for reason similar as that for A
C - We need not know the existence of these two, we are concerned about popularity
E - it is weak because of the used of "nonhuman species". D is far strong than E.

The argument treats two possible explanations "social conditioning" and "innate dispositions" as being mutually exclusive, i.e. the "true" explanation must be one or the other. There is no evidence that they cannot coexist and reinforce each other. That is what D points out.