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All English Springer Spaniels have long hair. All Rottweilers have short hair. Each of Tina's dogs is a cross between an English Springer Spaniel and a Rottweiler. Therefore, Tina's dogs have medium-length hair.
Which one of the following uses flawed reasoning that most closely resembles the flawed reasoning used in the argument above?
The flawed reasoning used in the passage is that a combination of two "parent" items with different attributes necessarily yields a "child" product having attributes that are averages of its parents' attributes. The correct answer uses parallel reasoning inasmuch as the argument uses the fact that halogen and noble gases differ with respect to toxicity to conclude that a combination of such gases would yield a gas having toxicity that is the average of the toxicity of its "parent" gases.
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It has been scientifically established that all dogs bark. As a result, any animal that barks is a dog. So, if a person hears an animal bark, that person can safely conclude that the animal is a dog.
Which of the following arguments most closely parallels the flawed reasoning above?
The argument assumes that if all A are B, then all B must be A. That is the central flaw of the argument because it may be true that all dogs bark and that seals also bark. Similarly, although it may be true that all high interest debt should be avoided, there may be other debt that should be avoided as well. It is important to note that the reasoning can be parallell even when the order of the argument may be slightly different.
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A high school football coach has made public comments criticizing the decision by the football coaching staff of the local university to not play their star quarterback. However, we should not listen to the high school coach’s criticism. His high school football team has not won a game in several seasons.
The flawed reasoning above most closely resembles which of the following arguments?
The stimulus holds that an opinion is false on the basis that the person with that opinion has made past mistakes in the same area. The correct answer is similar because it follows the same pattern of critiquing a position based on the person with the opinion not the opinion itself.
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Everyone who thinks the Rams would win the championship thought that Jones would receive the award for Most Valuable Player. But Jones did not receive the award for Most Valuable Player. Therefore, anyone who believes the Rams will win the championship is wrong.
Which one of the following arguments contains flawed reasoning most similar to that in the argument above?
The correct answer parallels the flawed reasoning of the stimulus. Both give a situation where the first argument is dismissed on the basis that the second argument presented is false.
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Poet: True sincerity is spoken from the heart, without filters. This form of expression contrasts sharply with what is (sadly) the more common way of speaking: a manner in which communication is made to create a comfortable situation, rather than to speak the truth.
Which of the following individuals best embodies the message that the poet is conveying?
The piano teacher speaks with the most sincerity because he does not speak with any filters, and has no reason to edit what he says.
The other answer choices are incorrect for the following reasons:
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While there are certain dog-training techniques that generally tend to be effective for most dogs, it is important to keep in mind that each dog will respond particularly well to certain techniques that other dogs might not be receptive to. Therefore, the best practice is to keep general principles in mind when training dogs, while tailoring their educations to their particular traits.
Which of the following propositions does this reasoning above most closely conform to?
The correct answer most closely conforms with the excerpt.
The incorrect answers are wrong for the following reasons:
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All limes are green. Therefore, any fruit that is green is a lime. If a person sees a fruit that is green, that person may assume that the fruit is a lime.
Which of the following most closely parallels the flawed reasoning above?
The flawed reasoning in the text is as follows:
X has trait Y. Therefore, anything with trait Y must be X. If a person encounters something with trait Y, then it must be X.
The correct answer properly reflects this reasoning. All the other answer choices do not properly follow this pattern: they may leave out a link of the causal reasoning or misconstruct it.
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If a wine receives a high score from the National Sommelier Association, it is more likely to be sold in fine-dining restaurants. A new wine from Oregon just received a high score from the National Sommelier Association. Therefore, it is more likely to be sold in fine-dining restaurants.
Which of the following choices most closely reflects the reasoning in the argument above?
The flow of reasoning in the argument is that if X has Y quality, then Z is likely to happen.
In the text,
X = wine
Y = receives a high score from the National Sommelier Association
Z = likely to be sold at fine dining restaurants
The correct answer follows this reasoning:
Pearls that are larger than average are more likely to retail for a higher price. A pearl diver found a dozen pearls that are much larger than average. Therefore, the pearls are more likely to retail for a higher price.
X = pearls
Y = larger than average
Z = more likely to retail at a higher price
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Economist: All hamburger joints must offer fries and drinks to maximize their revenue. The Burger Shack is a hamburger joint. Because it offers fries and drinks, its revenue is clearly being maximized.
The flawed reasoning in which one of the following is most similar to that in the economist’s argument?
The correct answer choice is the only one which commits the fallacy of affirming the consequent. In other words, both it and the original argument improperly assume the converse of their conditional statements. We know that the Burger Shack needs to offer fries and drinks to maximize its revenue, but we do not know that its revenue is necessarily maximized if it offers them. Likewise, we do not know whether Beverly is a successful piano teacher simply because she has a clear course of instruction and a patient personality.
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The Forestry Service has issued new warnings about forest fires, which hikers in the National Forest are encouraged to read thoroughly. The Forestry Service believes that more than two-thirds of forest fires last year were down to human error. Their hope is to seriously curtail the amount of fires for the coming year.
Which statement uses reasoning parallel to the reasoning used in the above statement?
The Forestry Service's main goal is to reduce the number of forest fires from year to year. Their reasoning is that educating people on how fires are started is the most effective way to achieve this goal. Similarly, the school wishes to reduce car wrecks among teenage drivers by educating teenagers about safe driving practices.
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Few people have ever seen the initiation rituals of the secret society, as its leadership believes that if anyone reports these deep mysteries then the society will cease to have an attraction.
The reasoning used by the secret society’s leadership is most closely paralleled by __________.
The secret society keeps its rituals secret, as do all of the other examples given in the answer choices; however, the secret society fosters this secrecy in the hope that it will attract more people to its ranks. This is most similar to a magician keeping secrets in order to attract an audience.
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The local ice cream shop decided to stop offering cappucino-flavored ice cream to its customers. Anna was disappointed by this decision, because cappucino was her favorite ice cream flavor. Therefore, the local ice cream shop intentionally disappointed Anna.
The flawed reasoning above most closely resembles the reasoning in which of the following arguments:
The flawed argument states that performing an intentional act led to a certain consequence, and draws the incorrect conclusion that the consequence itself was therefore intended. Similarly, the correct answer choice confuses an intentional act that resulted in a negative consequence with the intent to bring about that consequence.
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Every successful business has a smart CEO or good customer service. The CEO at John's company is not smart, so the company's customer service must be good.
Which of the following most closely resembles the flawed logic exemplified above?
The passage states, "Every successful business has a smart CEO or good customer service." It says nothing, however, about whether John's company is successful. Therefore, we can't reasonably deduce that it has good customer service just because the CEO isn't smart.
Similarly, we know that Henry's brother plays baseball, but not that he is a famous athlete. Therefore, just because he does not have talent does not mean that he has a good sports agent.
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Every successful marriage is built upon trust and compassion. Daniel and Beth do not have a successful marriage. Clearly, they do not trust each other.
Which of the following most closely resembles the flawed reasoning outlined above?
The reasoning in the passage is flawed because it presumes to know which (if either) of the necessary conditions is not satisfied in order for the marriage to be unsuccessful.
Similarly, just because the building does not qualify as a skyscraper does not mean that we know that its foundation is unstable.
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