Flaw Questions
Philosopher: I have been told that most university students today have no interest in philosophical issues, but I know from my own experience that this isn't true. I often go to university campuses to give talks, and the students at my talks have a deep interest in philosophical issues.
The reasoning in the philosopher's argument is flawed in that the argument
(A) uses the term "interest in two different ways when the argument requires that it be used consistently throughout
(B) treats a group as representative of a larger group when there is reason to believe it is unrepresentative
(C) appeals to the popularity of an academic field as evidence of the worth of that academic field
(D) takes for granted that just because there is no evidence that interest in something is decreasing, it must be increasing
(E) takes for granted that it is good that university students have an interest in a certain subject just because the person making the argument has that interest
(D) Takes for granted that just because there is no evidence that interest in something is decreasing, it must be increasing.
Extract from lease: The tenant should record all preexisting damage on the preexisting damage list, because the tenant need not pay for preexisting damage recorded there. The tenant must pay for damage that was not recorded on the preexisting damage list, except for any damage caused by a circumstance beyond the tenant's control.
In which one of the following instances does the extract from the lease most strongly support the view that the tenant is not required to pay for the damage?
(A) a hole in the wall that was not recorded on the preexisting damage list and that was the result of an event within the tenant's control
(B) a crack in a window caused by a factor beyond the tenant's control and not recorded on the preexisting damage list
(C) a tear in the linoleum that was not preexisting but that was caused by one of the tenant's children
(D) a missing light fixture that was present when the tenant moved in but was later removed by the tenant
(E) paint splatters on the carpet that should have been recorded on the preexisting damage list but were not
(B) A crack in a window caused by a factor beyond the tenant's control and not recorded on preexisting damage list.
Advertisement: Most nutritionists recommend eating fish twice a week. Eating tilapia filets is a perfect choice for those who want the benefits of eating fish but do not care for the taste of fish. Tilapia filets lack the strong fishy taste that many people find objectionable.
Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the advertisement's argument?
(A)Eating more than the recommended amount of fish can cause toxins that are present in high concentrations in many varieties of fish to accumulate in a person's body.
(B) Tilapia are invasive species that crowd out native species of fish in lakes throughout the world.
(C) Tilapia filets contain little of the beneficial fish oils that are the main reason nutritionists recommend eating fish frequently.
(D) Most people who do not care for the taste of fish eat less fish than is recommended by most nutritionists.
(E) People who rarely or never eat fish usually dislike any food with a strong fishy taste.
(C) Tilapia filets contain little of the beneficial fish oils that are the main reason nutritionists recommend eating fish frequently.
Ancient humans in eastern North America hunted mammoths until the mammoth disappeared from the area around 13,000 years ago. Recently, a fossil bone with an engraving that depicts a mammoth was found in an ancient settlement in eastern North America. This shows that the settlement was occupied at a time when mammoths lived in this area.
The argument requires the assumption that:
(A) the engraving was made during the time when the settlement was occupied
(B) the fossil on which the engraving was made was not a mammoth bone
(C) when mammoths disappeared from eastern North America, there were no mammoths left anywhere in North America
(D) the engraving technique employed on the fossil was unique to eastern North America
(E) there is no scientific way of dating when the engraving of the mammoth was made
(A) The engraving was made during the time when the settlement was occupied
Letter To the editor: Your newspaper's advertisement claims that you provide coverage of the high school's most popular sports. Clearly this is false advertising. Of the school's students, 15 percent compete on the track team, while only 5 percent of the students play basketball. Hence, track is far more popular than basketball, yet track gets no coverage and basketball gets full-page coverage.
The reasoning in the letter to the editor is most vulnerable to the criticism that it
(A) infers a cause from a mere correlation
(B) bases its conclusion on a sample that is too small
(C) misinterprets a key word in the newspaper's advertisement
(D) employs as a premise the contention it purports to show
(E) criticizes the source of a claim rather than the claim itself
(C) Misinterprets a key word in the newspaper's advertisement.
Naturalist: Different nonhuman primate species exhibit many contrasts in behavior. If a zookeeper leaves a screwdriver within reach of a chimpanzee, the animal is likely to examine and play with it for a time, and then move on to something else. In the same circumstances, an orangutan is likely to pretend to ignore the tool at first; later, in the zookeeper's absence, the orangutan may use the screwdriver to try to dismantle its cage.
Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the naturalist's statements?
(A)Orangutans are the most intelligent of nonhuman primates.
(B)Orangutans have better memories than chimpanzees have.
(C)Some nonhuman primates are capable of deception.
(D)Orangutans dislike being caged more than chimpanzees do.
(E)Not all nonhuman primates understand tool use.
(C) Some nonhuman primates are capable of deception.
An unstable climate was probably a major cause of the fall of the Roman empire. Tree-ring analysis shows that Europe's climate underwent extreme fluctuations between 250 A.D. and 550 A.D., a period that encompasses Rome's decline and fall. This highly variable climate surely hurt food production, which made the empire harder to rule and defend.
Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
(A) Political failures within the Roman empire during its last years led to conflicts that hampered agricultural production.
(B) The areas of the Roman empire that had the greatest climatic instability between 250 A.D. and 550 A.D. did not experience unusual levels of unrest during that period.
(C) Poor farming practices led to depleted soil in many parts of Europe during the last years of the Roman empire.
(D) During periods when the Roman empire was thriving, Europe consistently experienced weather that was favorable for agriculture.
(E) Total food production in Europe was likely greater in the years around 550 A.D. than in the years around 250 A.D.
(D) During periods when the Roman Empire was thriving, Europe consistently experienced weather that was favorable for agriculture.
Editorial: Animated films appropriate for children are those that are innocently whimsical, mischievous perhaps, but not threatening. Since new animated films aimed at adults have dark themes such as poverty and despair, such films cannot be considered appropriate for children.
Which one of the following is an assumption that would allow the conclusion to be properly drawn?
(A) Films that are whimsical and mischievous are not threatening.
(B) Films that are appropriate for adults are seldom appropriate for children.
(C) Films that have dark themes are threatening.
(D) Children enjoy films only if the films include animation.
(E) Children do not attend to some details in films aimed at adults.
(C) Films that have dark themes are threatening.
Art may make the world more beautiful, but one should choose a career in some profession other than art. Whether and how much artists get paid is determined by subjective evaluations by viewers or audiences of their work. It is unacceptable for one's pay to be determined by subjective evaluations of one's work.
The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument:
(A) takes for granted that people should choose careers solely on the basis of how much they pay
(B) takes for granted that a work of art will be considered beautiful either by everyone or by no one
(C) overlooks the possibility that one's pay in any profession involves a certain degree of subjective evaluation
(D) overlooks the possibility that some artists are paid very well
(E) treats a criterion that must be satisfied in order for a career choice to be a good one as a criterion that will ensure that a career choice is a good one
(C) Overlooks the possibility that one's pay in any profession involves a certain degree of subjective evaluation
A philosophical paradox is a particularly baffling sort of argument. Your intuitions tell you that the conclusion of a philosophical paradox is false, but they also tell you that its conclusion follows logically from true premises. Solving a philosophical paradox requires accepting any one of three things: that its conclusion is true, that at least one of its premises is not true, or that its conclusion doesn't really follow logically from its premises.
If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?
(A) Solving a philosophical paradox requires accepting something that intuitively seems to be incorrect.
(B)The conclusion of a philosophical paradox cannot be false if all the paradox's premises are true.
(C) Philosophical paradoxes with one or two premises are more baffling than those with several premises.
(D) Any two people who attempt to solve a philosophical paradox will probably use two different approaches.
(E) If it is not possible to accept that the conclusion of a particular philosophical paradox is true, then it is not possible to solve that paradox.
(B) The conclusion of a philosophical paradox cannot be false if all the paradox's premises are true.
(Shoutout Dr. Georgi and Phil 260)
Yu: The menu at Jason's Restaurant states that no food served there contains products grown with chemical pesticides, but this cannot be true. I recently visited Kelly's Grocery, where Jason goes personally to buy the restaurant's produce, and I noticed workers unloading produce from a truck belonging to MegaFarm, which I know uses chemical pesticides on all of its crops. Which one of the following, if true, most undermines Yu's claim?
(A)Jason does not know that Kelly's Grocery buys produce from MegaFarm.
(B)Jason buys ingredients from several suppliers besides Kelly's Grocery, and those suppliers sell only products that are grown without chemical pesticides.
(C)At Kelly's Grocery, most of the produce items that are grown without chemical pesticides carry a label to indicate that fact.
(D)None of the farms that supply produce to Kelly's Grocery use any pesticide that has not been approved by the government as safe for use on food crops.
(E)Most people who buy produce at Kelly's Grocery would never knowingly buy produce grown with any chemical pesticides.
(C) At Kelly's Grocery, most of the produce items that are grown without chemical pesticides carry a label to indicate that fact.
The Traditional view of Neanderthals is that they lacked the ability to think symbolically. However, recent evidence suggests this view is mistaken. Using an innovative new technique, researchers established that a cave painting in northern Spain was created at least 40,800 years ago. It is therefore likely the painting was made by a Neanderthal.
Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?
(A) Neanderthals are known to have possessed the manual dexterity required to create cave paintings like the one in northern Spain.
(B) No species of hominid other than Neanderthals inhabited any part of Europe 40,800 years ago.
(C) The ability to create cave paintings like the one in northern Spain indicates the ability to think symbolically.
(D) The recent evidence regarding the cave painting in northern Spain is the first evidence to suggest that Neanderthals possessed the ability to think symbolically.
(E) Any species of hominid that cannot create cave paintings must lack the ability to think symbolically.
(C) The ability to create cave paintings like the one in northern Spain indicates the ability to think symbolically.
Store owner: My customers are not worried about crime in this neighborhood; every day I talk to people who shop at my store, and they tell me that they are not worried. So crime is not adversely affecting my business by reducing the number of people willing to shop at my store.
The reasoning in the store owner's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument:
(A) infers that something is not the case on the grounds that there is only a small amount of evidence for its being the case
(B) appeals to personal opinion to establish a factual claim
(C) generalizes about the whole neighborhood based on the case of one store
(D) draws a conclusion on the basis of a biased sample
(E) fails to consider that crime might affect the neighborhood negatively without affecting businesses negatively
(D) Draws a conclusion on the basis of a biased sample.
Film historians often find it difficult to determine typical audience members' responses to particular films, especially those from the early twentieth century. Box office figures help little, for they indicate only a film's financial success or failure; they do not show what audiences found funny, or frightening, or moving. These historians also find that newspaper and magazine reviews fail to provide much insight.
Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the statements above?
(A)Newspaper and magazine reviews of films are usually written in advance of a film's general release.
(B) Typical audience members' responses to films from the latter part of the twentieth century are easy to determine.
(C) The box office success of a film does not depend on its viewers finding it funny, frightening, or moving.
(D)Film historians do not believe that film reviews in newspapers and magazines reveal typical film audience members' views.
(E) Films from the early part of the twentieth century were not usually reviewed in newspapers or magazines.
(D) Film historians do not believe that film reviews in newspapers and magazines reveal typical film audience members' views.
Pratt: Almost all cases of rabies in humans come from being bitten by a rabid animal, and bats do carry rabies. But there is little justification for health warnings that urge the removal of any bats residing in buildings where people work or live. Bats are shy animals that rarely bite, and the overwhelming majority of bats do not have rabies.
Which one of the following, if true, most weakens Pratt's argument?
(A) A rabid bat is much more likely to infect another bat than to infect any other type of animal.
(B) Rabid bats are less mobile than other bats but are much more aggressive.
(C) Most animals that carry rabies are animals of species that, under normal conditions, very rarely bite people.
(D) The bat species with the highest incidence of rabies do not live in buildings.
(E) People are more likely to be aware of having been bitten by a bat if they were bitten by the bat inside a building.
(B) Rabid bats are less mobile than other bats but are much more aggressive.
The arousal of anger is sometimes a legitimate artistic aim, and every legitimate artwork that has this aim calls intentionally for concrete intervention in the world. Even granting that most art is concerned with beauty in some way, it follows that those critics who maintain that a concern for beauty is a characteristic of all legitimate art are mistaken.
The conclusion of the argument follows logically which one of the following is assumed?
(A) There are works that are concerned with beauty but that are not legitimate works of art.
(B) Only those works that are exclusively concerned with beauty are legitimate works of art.
(C) Works of art that call for intervention have a merely secondary concern with beauty.
(D) No works of art that call for intervention are concerned with beauty.
(E) Only works that call for intervention are legitimate works of art.
(D) No works of art that call for intervention are concerned with beauty.
Historian: Those who claim that Shakespeare did not write the plays commonly attributed to him are motivated purely by snobbery. Shakespeare was the son of a glove maker, whereas every other person proposed as the true author of the plays was an aristocrat, and many of those who argue that one or another of these aristocrats wrote the plays are the aristocrats' descendants.
The reasoning in the historian's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument:
(A) presumes, without providing justification, that a claim cannot be true if those who advance it are motivated by snobbery
(B) takes for granted that anyone who is motivated purely by snobbery cannot also be motivated by legitimate historical evidence
(C) fails to consider adequately the possible motives of those who claim that Shakespeare did write the plays commonly attributed to him
(D) fails to exclude the possibility that there might be legitimate evidence motivating those who reject Shakespeare's authorship
(E) makes use of an assumption that one would accept only if one has already accepted the truth of the conclusion
(D) Fails to exclude the possibility that there might be legitimate evidence motivating those who reject Shakespeare's authorship.
Art critic: All of Dolores Albarran's oil paintings are highly original, though few of them are critically acclaimed or popular with collectors. Remarkably, Albarran produced no highly original works until late in her career, and few of her abstract works demonstrate much originality.
If all of the art critic's statements are true, which one ofbthe following must also be true?
(A) Most of Albarran's works that are not popular with collectors are highly original.
(B) Few of the works produced late in Albarran's career are abstract works.
(C) Most, if not all, of the works produced late in Albarran's career are oil paintings.
(D) Most, if not all, of Albarran's abstract works are not oil paintings.
(E) Few or none of Albarran's critically acclaimed works are highly original.
(D) Most, if not all, of Albarran's abstract works are not oil paintings.
That Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale (1610-1611) is modeled after Euripides' Alcestis (fifth century B.C.) seems undeniable. However, it is generally accepted that Shakespeare knew little or no Greek, so Euripides' original play would be an unlikely source. Thus, it seems most likely that Shakespeare came to know Euripides' play through a Latin translation.
Which one of the following, if true, LEAST strengthens the argument?
(A) Latin phrases that were widely used in England during Shakespeare's time appear in a number of his plays.
(B) The only English language version of Alcestis available in Shakespeare's time differed drastically from the original in ways The Winter's Tale does not.
(C) Paul Buchanan's 1539 Latin translation of Alcestis was faithful to the original and widely available during the 1600s.
(D) Shakespeare's father's community standing makes it probable that Shakespeare attended grammar school, where Latin would have been a mandatory subject.
(E) There is strong evidence to suggest that Shakespeare relied on Latin translations of Greek plays as sources for some of his other works.
(A) Latin phrases that were widely used in England during Shakespeare's time appear in a number of his plays.
A study of 30 years of weather pattern records of several industrialized urban areas found that weekend days tend to be cloudier than weekdays. Thus it can no longer be denied that human activity has appreciable, large-scale effects on weather, because the few seven-day cycles that occur naturally are of too little significance to cause measurable weather patterns.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends? (Insanely difficult Question by the way)
(A) Industrial activity tends to decrease significantly on weekend days in the large urban areas studied.
(B)There are no naturally occurring seven-day cycles in the areas studied.
(C)If living organisms have an appreciable large- scale effect on weather patterns, then this is due at least partly to the effects of human activity.
(D) If something appreciably affects large-scale weather patterns, it is probably cyclical in nature.
(E) If a weather pattern with a natural cause has a seven-day cycle, then that cause has a seven-day cycle.
(E) If a weather pattern with a natural cause has a seven-day cycle, then that cause has a seven-day cycle.