Logical Reasoning

PT106 · S3 · Q8 Some environmentalists question

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Some environmentalists question the prudence of exploiting features of the environment, arguing that there are no economic benefits to be gained from forests, mountains, or wetlands that no longer exist.

Statements

Point of View 1 (some environmentalists)

It might not be a good idea for us to exploit features of the environment, because if we exhaust them until they don't exist anymore then we won't be able to get any future benefits from them.

Point of View 2 (many environmentalists)

Nature actually has intrinsic value, so it's wrong to destroy it whether or not it makes economic sense to do so.

Evaluate

It's hard to take any guess about how to synthesize these two points of view. We could say something like, , since each point of view gave a different rationale for the same general idea of "don't ruin the environment".

Goal

Pick the most provable answer we can find.

8.

Which one of the following can be logically inferred from the passage?

  1. It is economically imprudent to

    Opinion vs. Fact

    The environmentalists in the first sentence ("some" = at least one) believe this answer, but can we logically infer that it's true just because some people believe it? Many people believe that the Earth is flat.

    6% picked this

  2. Correct

    Some environmentalists appeal to a

    Why this is right

    This is provable because of the 2nd sentence. The environmentalists in the second sentence are saying that nature has intrinsic value. Economic value is not the same as intrinsic value. Intrinsic value isn't based on whether or not you could make money off something. And they are saying, "Because of the intrinsic value of nature, it would be wrong to destroy (via exploitation) features of the environment (such as forests, mountains wetlands), even if destroying them was economically better than not destroying them." The "because" shows that the environmentalist is offering a justification for avoiding the exploitation of the environment. And the "intrinsic value" + "even when it's not in your economic interests" shows that it's a noneconomic way

    Skill tested: Must be True · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    67% picked this

  3. Most environmentalists appeal to economic

    Too Strong: most

    We can never infer a claim about "Most X's" unless we were given information about "Most X's". Neither of these two statements told us anything that is true of most environmentalists (more than 50%). We heard what's true of some (at least one), in the 1st sentence. And we heard what's true of many (at least a handful), in the 2nd sentence.

    3% picked this

  4. Many environmentalists provide only a

    Too Strong: only

    We know that the "many environmentalists" in the 2nd sentence provide a noneconomic justification for questioning whether it's smart for us to exploit features of the environment. Do we know that this is the only justification they ever provide? No, the passage doesn't reveal whether this is their only justification. The environmentalists in the 2nd sentence could agree with the 1st sentence, that there's also an economic justification for opposing exploitation of the environment.

    6% picked this

  5. Even if there is no

    Opinion vs. Fact

    The environmentalists in the second sentence believe this answer, but can we logically infer that it's true? Many people believe that the Earth is flat. Opinion ? Fact.

    18% picked this

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