Criminologist: The main purpose

Answer choices

1. A

   Reversal4% picked this

   If an organization tries to become increasingly involved in areas that promise to generate enormous profits, then the main purpose of that

   This puts the conclusion language we're looking for on the trigger side of a conditional, so it's useless to us. If we reversed this rule then it would be a correct answer. We KNOW that criminal orgs' main purpose is to generate profits. We're trying to PROVE that they will become increasingly involved in areas like biotech and IT. Conditional answers have to go FROM what we know TO what we're trying to prove. This has that reversed.

   4%
2. B

   Unrelated to Goal Too Weak14% picked this

   At least some criminal organizations are or will at some point become aware that the ongoing revolutions in biotechnology and information technology

   While this supports the argument that criminal organizations would become involved in the areas of biotechnology and information technology, it does not prove the conclusion that they will indeed do so. We know at a glance it can't prove the conclusion because it doesn't have the new concept in the conclusion: "try to become increasingly involved"

   14%
3. C

   Unrelated to Goal6% picked this

   Criminal organizations are already heavily involved in every activity that promises to

   While this may be tempting for someone who misread the argument's conclusion and thought it meant simply that criminal organizations will become involved, this misses the point that we need to prove that the criminal organizations will become increasingly involved (i.e this doesn't have the New Concept in the Conclusion).

   6%
4. D

   Correct72% picked this

   Any organization whose main purpose is to generate profits will try to become increasingly involved in any technological revolution that

   Why this is right

   This has the New Concept: "try to become increasingly involved in"! This rule starts, "If your org's main purpose is to generate profits" Okay, we know that description applies to criminal orgs, so we know that this is a useful rule. This will tell us something about criminal orgs. We want it to convince us that they will try to become increasingly involved in Biotech and IT. This says they'll try to become increasing involved in [any tech revolution that promises to generate enormous profits]. Do Biotech and IT qualify as [a tech revolution that promises to generate enormous profits]? Yes! That's what we were told about them. Okay so we can apply this rule to criminal orgs and derive that they will try to become increasingly involved in biotech and IT.

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

   72%
5. E

   Unrelated to Goal Too Weak4% picked this

   Most criminal organizations are willing to become involved in legal activities if those activities

   This would only establish that criminal organizations would become willing to be involved in the areas of biotechnology and information technology, but not that we could expect them to actually do so. Furthermore, we don't actually know that enormous profits would be sufficient profits in the eyes of the criminal organizations. We know at a glance this can't prove the conclusion because it doesn't have the new concept in the conclusion: "try to become increasingly involved"

   4%