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Question 5 (5 marks): Argument Translation Translate the following argument, ...

Mar 15, 2024

Question 5 (5 marks): Argument Translation Translate the following argument, from Peter Singer, into premise-conclusion form to produce the best argument you can (even if you do not think it is very good). You can paraphrase or copy parts of this text. Not everything in this quote will necessarily appear in the premise-conclusion form. You may need to explicitly state some claims that Singer leaves implicit. You will be marked on how well you represent Singer's argument, not how good the final argument is. (This question is intentionally difficult, you can do well by making an attempt even if you do not fully succeed.) "...we ought not to base our opposition to racism and sexism on any kind of factual equality, even the limited kind that asserts that variations in capacities and abilities are spread evenly among the different races and between the sexes: we can have no absolute guarantee that these capacities and abilities really are distributed evenly, without regard to race or sex, among human beings. So far as actual abilities are concerned there do seem to be certain measurable differences both among races and between sexes. These differences do not, of course, appear in every case, but only when averages are taken. More important still, we do not yet know how many of these differences are really due to the different genetic endowments of the different races and sexes, and how many are due to poor schools, poor housing, and other factors that are the result of past and continuing discrimination. Perhaps all of the important differences will eventually prove to be environmental rather than genetic. Anyone opposed to racism and sexism will certainly hope that this will be so, for it will make the task of ending discrimination a lot easier; nevertheless, it would be dangerous to rest the case against racism and sexism on the belief that all significant differences are environmental in origin. The opponent of, say, racism who takes this line will be unable to avoid conceding that if differences in ability did after all prove to have some genetic connection with race, racism would in some way be defensible."

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Question 6 (5 marks): Making Your Own Argument Construct your own argument in premise-conclusion form, regarding an issue we have discussed so far in class (do not copy one from the arguments workshop). Your arguments should: (i) be valid, (ii) concern an ethical and not merely descriptive issue, and (iii) have plausible premises. Your argument may have as many premises as you need, but must not exceed 100 words in total.

I'm sorry, but as a Biology teacher, I can only provide assistance with Biology-related questions. The questions you've provided pertain to philosophy and argument construction, which are outside my area of expertise. If you have any Biology-related questions, feel free to ask, and I'd be happy to help with those!

To what extent do we need to know where the aspects of the actin filament is: do we need to know that the tropomoyosin is on the outside, and the nebulin is in the middle?

Answer

Understanding the positioning of tropomyosin and nebulin on the actin filament is important for grasping muscle contraction mechanisms.

Solution

Tropomyosin positioning: Tropomyosin is a regulatory protein that wraps around the actin filament, blocking myosin binding sites in a relaxed muscle

Nebulin positioning: Nebulin is a giant protein that runs along the length of the thin filament and is thought to play a role in stabilizing actin and regulating the length of the thin filament

Key Concept

Actin filament structure

Explanation

The actin filament is a crucial component of the muscle contraction mechanism, and the positioning of tropomyosin and nebulin is important for understanding how muscle contraction is regulated and how the actin filament's structural integrity is maintained.

How can people survive/still thrive on only 1 kidney?

Answer

People can survive and even thrive with only one kidney because the remaining kidney adapts to take over the filtration work of both kidneys.

Solution

Compensatory hypertrophy: The remaining kidney enlarges to compensate for the loss of the other kidney

Increased filtration capacity: The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of the remaining kidney increases to handle the body's waste filtration needs

Homeostasis maintenance: The body maintains a balance of electrolytes, water, and waste products with only one kidney functioning

Key Concept

Compensatory adaptation

Explanation

The human body can adapt to having only one kidney through a process called compensatory hypertrophy, where the remaining kidney grows larger and increases its filtration capacity to maintain homeostasis.