Question

Even though apes are the only nonhuman creatures able to learn human language, no ape has ever used its human language skill-q to ask such philosophical questions as, "How am I different from all other creatures?" Therefore, philosophical thought is unique to humans.

The conclusion in the passage above relies on which one of the following assumptions?

(A) Human language is unique to humans.
(B) Apes are incapable of thinking in human language.
(C) Philosophical thought can be expressed only in human language.
(D) Speaking in human language is easier than thinking in human language.
(E) It is more difficult to learn human language than to express philosophical questions.

Answer 1

The argument's conclusion relies on the assumption that philosophical thought requires the expressive capabilities of human language, implicitly suggesting that the complexity necessary for such thought is unique to humans.

Step-by-step explanation:

The conclusion in the passage that philosophical thought is unique to humans relies on the assumption that philosophical thought can only be expressed in human language. This is because the ape's inability to ask philosophical questions using human language skills is being used as evidence of their incapacity for such thought. While apes may have basic language skills and symbolic understanding, the scope of their communication does not evidently extend to the philosophical, an area assumed to be afforded only by the complexities of human language and cognition.

Given that apes can master basic vocabulary and even combine words to obtain what they want, the key assumption of the passage is that philosophical thoughts are intrinsically linked to human language and its expressive capacity. This underlies the claim that such thought is uniquely human because merely learning human words or symbols does not equate to engaging in philosophical inquiry. This suggests, by implication, that the necessary language complexity for such profound questioning is exclusive to our species.