Logical Reasoning

PT101 · S2 · Q9 Historian: Anyone who thinks that

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Historian: Anyone who thinks that the terrors of the ancient regime of Q were exclusively the work of fanatics is overlooking a basic truth: the regime was made up primarily of ordinary people enthusiastically seeking paradise.

Conclusion (so)

At least some of the ordinary people of Q were in fact murderers.

Evidence

The regime of Q was made up primarily of ordinary people enthusiastically seeking paradise.

The regime executed many people in pursuit of its goal.

Evaluate

We're trying to prove that some ordinary people of Q were murderers. We know that the regime did execute many people, and we know that the regime was made up primarily of ordinary people.

In terms of just connecting the dots between Premise and Conclusion, we'd be looking for something like, .

One potential objection could be,

So we could also strengthen this argument with some guilt-by-association principle like, .

Goal

As always, with Principle-Strengthen, we want to be stubborn about getting the Conclusion on the right side of whatever rule we pick. We can be flexible with the trigger language, as long as it sounds applicable, but the principle should help us prove that someone was a "murderer".

9.

Which one of the following principles, if valid, provides the most support for the historian's argumentation?

  1. The pursuit of paradise does

    Bad Conclusion Match

    This isn't a rule that puts " ---> murderer" on the right of the arrow. This would say, "if pursuing paradise --> murder not justified" But the conclusion isn't saying, "So these murders were wrong / These murders were unjustified". It's saying, "some of these people were murderers". This answer doesn't give us any way to prove that someone was a murderer.

    13% picked this

  2. The pursuit of paradise justifies

    Bad Conclusion Match

    This isn't a rule that puts " ---> murderer" on the right of the arrow. In fact, it's not even talking about "murder".

    1% picked this

  3. Correct

    Execution in pursuit of what

    Why this is right

    This is a rule that puts " ---> murderer" on the right of the arrow. This says, execute people in pursuit of what is later found to ? murder be unattainable Does the trigger apply? Do we know that some of the ordinary people of Q executed people in pursuit of what is later found to be unattainable? Yes. We know that some ordinary people of Q were part of this regime, and they were in pursuit of paradise. The regime "executed many people in pursuit of its goal", but the goal was later found to be unrealizable (i.e. unattainable). So the trigger is applicable, and the rule outputs the idea that doing what the regime did counts as murder. Thus we've strengthened, if not outright proven, the conclusion that some ordinary people of Q were murderers.

    Skill tested: Principle-Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    79% picked this

  4. Fanaticism in pursuit of paradise

    Bad Conclusion Match

    This isn't a rule that puts " ---> murderer" on the right of the arrow. In fact, it's not even talking about "murder". This rule would allow us to prove that someone did something "inhumane", but we're trying to prove they are murderers.

    1% picked this

  5. Enthusiasm in pursuit of what

    Bad Conclusion Match

    This isn't a rule that puts " ---> murderer" on the right of the arrow. In fact, it's not even talking about "murder". This rule would allow us to prove that someone did something "fanatical", but we're trying to prove they are murderers.

    5% picked this

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