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- Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:18 pm
#22644
Question #7: Flaw. The correct answer choice is (E).
The political advertisement questions Sherwood’s opposition to higher taxes, because the city council on which Sherwood had served managed to increase taxes for 10 consecutive years. This line of reasoning is flawed, because it is entirely possible that Sherwood voted against the tax increases, even if the council as a whole voted in favor. This is an example of an Error of Division, where the author attributes a characteristic of the whole group (how the council voted as a whole) to a member of that group (how Sherwood voted). This prephrase is crucial and quickly reveals answer choice (E) to be correct.
If you learned to recognize logical flaws quickly and efficiently, this would be one of the easiest questions in the entire section.
Answer Choice (A): This answer choice describes a classic Error of Overgeneralization, which is a different flaw altogether. No limited sample is used, since the advertisement considers the voting record of the council as a whole.
Answer Choice (B): This answer choice should immediately be ruled out, as we have no evidence that tax increases are generally unavoidable. The proposition that unavoidable things may nevertheless be desirable has no bearing on the author’s conclusion.
Answer Choice (C): This answer choice describes the error of Mistaken Negation. However, this argument is not formally deductive, and conditional reasoning is never used.
Answer Choice (D): This answer choice describes another classic Source Argument flaw (a.k.a. an ad hominem attack). Although Sherwood is obviously being attacked, the rationale for this attack has little to do with his personal character or motivations. Thus, the attack is not properly considered “personal:” the advertisement’s conclusion is based solely on the voting record of the council on which Sherwood had served.
Answer Choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. The author takes for granted that a characteristic of a group as a whole (the city council’s voting in favor of higher taxes) is shared by an individual member of that group (Sherwood).
The political advertisement questions Sherwood’s opposition to higher taxes, because the city council on which Sherwood had served managed to increase taxes for 10 consecutive years. This line of reasoning is flawed, because it is entirely possible that Sherwood voted against the tax increases, even if the council as a whole voted in favor. This is an example of an Error of Division, where the author attributes a characteristic of the whole group (how the council voted as a whole) to a member of that group (how Sherwood voted). This prephrase is crucial and quickly reveals answer choice (E) to be correct.
If you learned to recognize logical flaws quickly and efficiently, this would be one of the easiest questions in the entire section.
Answer Choice (A): This answer choice describes a classic Error of Overgeneralization, which is a different flaw altogether. No limited sample is used, since the advertisement considers the voting record of the council as a whole.
Answer Choice (B): This answer choice should immediately be ruled out, as we have no evidence that tax increases are generally unavoidable. The proposition that unavoidable things may nevertheless be desirable has no bearing on the author’s conclusion.
Answer Choice (C): This answer choice describes the error of Mistaken Negation. However, this argument is not formally deductive, and conditional reasoning is never used.
Answer Choice (D): This answer choice describes another classic Source Argument flaw (a.k.a. an ad hominem attack). Although Sherwood is obviously being attacked, the rationale for this attack has little to do with his personal character or motivations. Thus, the attack is not properly considered “personal:” the advertisement’s conclusion is based solely on the voting record of the council on which Sherwood had served.
Answer Choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. The author takes for granted that a characteristic of a group as a whole (the city council’s voting in favor of higher taxes) is shared by an individual member of that group (Sherwood).
