Logical Reasoning

PT107 · S4 · Q8 Conservationist: The population of a certain wildflower

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Conservationist: The population of a certain wildflower is so small that the species is headed for extinction.

Conclusion

This daisy should be introduced into the wildflower's range.

Evidence

The wildflower is near extinction. The daisy can cross-pollinate with the wildflower to produce viable seeds. Hybridization is the only way we'll prevent total loss of the wildflower in its range.

Evaluate

There is normative language in the conclusion "should" that never appears in the evidence. So one boring assumption being made is that .

If we concede that we should try to save the wildflower, are we convinced this plan will work?

Maybe the author's recommendation has to assume that this plan could work and wouldn't backfire in some way that's worse than the alternative.

Goal

Look for an answer naming something essential to wanting to do this plan at all, or an answer essential to the idea of this plan working as intended.

8.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the conservationist's reasoning depends?

  1. The wildflower currently reproduces only

    Too Strong: only

    Even if it reproduces by other means, we still have a premise that says, "hybridization is the only means of preventing total loss of the species". So, we couldn't negate this answer and then argue, "We shouldn't cross pollinate with the daisy, we should help it reproduce some other way."

    6% picked this

  2. The domesticated daisy was bred

    Out of Scope: daisy's backstory

    This is just speculating a potential causal story for why the daisy and the wildflower can cross-pollinate, but the author doesn't need to assume any particular story behind that premise. The fact that the daisy and wildflower can cross-pollinate is all that's relevant to the author's argument. How that came to be is not relevant.

    2% picked this

  3. Increasing the population of the

    Out of Scope: expand its range

    The premise specifically talks about preventing total loss of the wildflower in its range. The author never suggests that we're trying to expand the range, so she's not necessarily assuming anything about whether increasing the population will or won't expand the range.

    12% picked this

  4. Correct

    Wildflower-daisy hybrids will be able

    Why this is right

    If we negate this, it sounds like a huge objection to this plan: these hybrids won't be able to reproduce The author would be like, "Oh. Well then. I guess introducing the daisy is not going to save the wildflower via hybridization." When I first read this, I was confused, though, thinking that the paragraph had already established this idea when it said that "this wildflower can cross-pollinate with a daisy, producing viable seeds." But as I think about what that term must mean, viable seeds (like a viable pregnancy) means that the seed could actually be "born". It could grow into a plant. What this answer is talking about is, "Once you've put daisies in range of wildflowers and they cross-pollinate and give birth to hybrid plants, will those hybrid plants be able to reproduce with each other?" If not, then this daisy plan will only slightly delay the extinction of the wildflower: we'll get a generation of daisy/wildflower hybrids, but then since those hybrids can't reproduce, they'll die off and then we're at total loss of the wildflower.

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

    76% picked this

  5. The domesticated daisy will cross-pollinate

    Too Strong: any

    All we know is that the daisy can cross-pollinate with this wildflower. And all the argument cares about is using the daisy to partially save this wildflower. Whether daisies can or can't cross-pollinate with 100% of daisylike plants is totally beyond the scope of this conversation. It wouldn't matter to this conversation whether the daisy can cross-pollinate with 100%, 99%, or only 1% of daisylike plants. Since we already know it can cross-pollinate with the wildflower we're trying to save, we already know enough.

    4% picked this

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