PT102.S1.P4.Q25 > Analytics

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

Scientists' perspective · Analytic method

For complex systems, divide into component parts and study each part.

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Critics' perspective · System loses complexity when parts are studied separately

Critics' new concept · Organicism

The whole determines the parts, and the parts are interdependent. ("Perceived" weaknesses suggests author will later say these weaknesses in analytic method were not real.)

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Basis of organicism · Theory of internal relations

Entities have relationships with each other only if they're part of a whole that contains the entities. Relationships alter each entity, and relationships determine defining characteristics of an entity.

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Critique of internal relations theory · Not all characteristics of an entity define that entity

Entities can have relationships that don't change the entities.

Additional critique of internal relations theory · Makes acquiring knowledge impossible

According to the theory, to known an entity, you have to know all of its relationships. But that seems impossible to do.

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Origin of organicism · Didn't understand the analytic method

Analytic method doesn't involve studying individual parts in complete isolation from the whole. Scientists still studied laws and initial conditions of the whole system.

Main point · Rejection of organicism

No valid reason to abandon analytic method. Organicists didn't show that we can't discover the laws and initial conditions of complex systems.

Passage Style

Critique or debate

25.

The passage most strongly supports ███ ██████████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ █████ ██ ██████████ ███ ███ ███ ████████ ███████

A complex system ██ ████ ██████████ ██ ████████ ███ █████████ █████ ██ ████ █████████ ████ ███ ██████ ██ █ ██████

Anti-supported. This is not what the scientists who use the analytic method believe; this describes the organicists’ misunderstanding of the analytic method. The analytic method does not study the component parts of a system in full isolation from the system as a whole.

25%

The parts of █ ██████ ██████ ██ ███████ ████ ██ █████████ ██ ███ ████ ███ ███████ ██████████ ████ ██████ ███ ███████

This is supported in P5––under the analytic method, before scientists study the component parts of a system, they first study the laws and initial conditions of the system.

48%

It is not ████████ ██ █████████ ███ ████ █████████ █ ██████ █████ ███ ████████ █████ ███ █████████ ████ ███ ████████

Anti-supported. Actually, the scientists who use the analytic method study the laws governing a system before studying the component parts.

10%

Because the parts ██ █ ██████ ███ ███████████████ ████ ██████ ██ ███████ ██████████ ███████ ██████████ ███ ████████ ███████████

Unsupported. This is not what the scientists who use the analytic method believe; this describes the organicists’ misunderstanding of the analytic method. The scientists who use the analytic method study component parts separately. They probably don’t think that their method for studying systems destroys their complexity.

13%

Studying the parts ██ █ ██████ ████████████ ██████████ ███ ████ ██ █████████ █████ ███████████████ ██ ███ █████ ███ ████████ ████████████████

Unsupported. Defining characteristics are only discussed in the context of the theory of internal relations (which the organicists believe). We don’t know what the scientists who use the analytic method think about defining characteristics.

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PrepTest 102 - Section 1 - Passage 4 - Question 25

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