It is now a common complaint that the electronic media have corroded the intellectual skills required and fostered by the literary media. But several centuries ago the complaint was that certain intellectual skills, such as the powerful memory and extemporaneous eloquence that were intrinsic to oral culture, were being destroyed by the spread of literacy. So, what awaits us is probably a mere alteration of the human mind rather than its devolution.
The reference to the complaint of several centuries ago that powerful memory and extemporaneous eloquence were being destroyed plays which one of the following roles in the argument?
(A) evidence supporting the claim that the intellectual skills fostered by the literary media are being destroyed by the electronic media
(B) an illustration of the general hypothesis being advanced that intellectual abilities are inseparable from the means by which people communicate
(C) an example of a cultural change that did not necessarily have a detrimental effect on the human mind overall
(D) evidence that the claim that the intellectual skills required and fostered by the literary media are being lost is unwarranted
(E) possible evidence, mentioned and then dismissed, that might be cited by supporters of the hypothesis being criticized
A. Incorrect. The author doesn’t present any evidence to support or refute the idea that electronic media will destroy literacy. This claim is mentioned but not directly evaluated.
B. Incorrect. The author never asserts that intellectual abilities are inherently linked to communication. Since this premise isn't part of the argument, this option doesn’t fit.
C. Correct. The reference to concerns about the oral-to-literacy transition serves as an example and analogy. The point is to show that past shifts in communication were feared but didn’t necessarily cause harm—supporting the author's larger point.
D. Incorrect. The author acknowledges that intellectual skills like memory and eloquence may have declined with literacy. However, the argument is that such changes aren’t necessarily negative—they could be neutral.
E. Incorrect. The position being challenged is that electronic media will ruin literacy. This option wrongly interprets the author’s mention of literacy’s negative reception in the past, twisting it into a defense of literacy by suggesting it was a bad thing. That interpretation is clearly off.
