Both passages are primarily concerned with addressing which one of the following questions?

Claudia-Frankel on June 21, 2020

I mean where does "conscious intention" show up in the first passage not the second.

Thanks!

Victoria on July 2, 2020

Hi @Claudia-Frankel,

Happy to help!

While the phrase "conscious intention" is never explicitly used in Passage A, it is a concept underlying the passage's discussion of different animal focalization.

We learn that animal focalization may have evolved because they can alter listeners' behaviours; however, the passage concludes that this communication is inadvertent because most animals cannot attribute mental states to others. In this way, their communication lacks conscious intention.

The passage notes that frogs call because females will approach and other males will retreat; however, they lack the conscious intention behind the call as there is no evidence that they call because they attribute desire or knowledge to other frogs nor do they know that calling will necessarily affect the other frogs' behaviour. The passage presents similar anecdotes about macaques and chimpanzees.

Answer choice (A) is incorrect because only Passage B discusses animals' capacity to prevaricate.

Answer choice (C) is incorrect because neither passage answers this question.

Answer choice (D) is incorrect for the same reason as answer choice (C). Passage A discusses nonhuman primates, but only compares their communication systems to those of humans, not all other animals.

Answer choice (E) is incorrect because only Passage B addresses broader scientific views about the differences between animal and human communication systems. Passage A simply presents its own argument based on scientific research.

Hope this is helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions.