Logical Reasoning

PT134 · S3 · Q10 People often admonish us

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People often admonish us to learn the lessons of history, but, even if it were easy to discover what the past was really like, it is nearly impossible to discover its lessons.

Conclusion (implicit)

It's kind of absurd to urge people to learn the lessons of history.

Evidence

It's nearly impossible to discover the lessons of history (for example, what were lessons of WWI?) And even if you learned the lessons, how would you know when to apply them, since no future situation will exactly match a past situation.

Evaluate

This is a weird Role question. They're asking us about a claim that never happened. The paragraph never said "we should learn the lessons of history". But people often admonish us to learn the lessons of history.

That's saying that people often say, "We should learn the lessons of history".

So the question stem is asking, what Role is played by [the idea that people often say].

Goal

Since this whole argument is rebutting that first notion, that we should learn the lessons of history, we could say the Role played is a counterpoint an opposing conclusion the claim the argument is trying to undermine the enemy

10.

That we should learn the lessons of history figures in the argument in which one of the following ways?

  1. It sets out a problem

    Out of Scope: problem to resolve

    This conversation is about the author rejecting advice people think we should follow. It's not about the author trying to resolve a problem.

    4% picked this

  2. It is compatible with accepting

    Wrong Role

    This makes it seem like the Role played was Background. But we were looking for Counterpoint, Opposing, The Enemy. The argument's implicit conclusion is, "This advice is dumb", so this advice is not compatible with accepting that claim.

    4% picked this

  3. It is a position that

    Too Strong: simply takes for granted

    The author doesn't just assume it's false. She presents an entire argument to support the idea that it's false.

    1% picked this

  4. Correct

    It expresses the position the

    Why this is right

    This is a synonym for Counterpoint / Opposing Position / The Enemy.

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

    86% picked this

  5. It is an assumption that

    Never the Answer

    Assumptions are by definition invisible, so there has never been (and presumably will never be) a correct answer on Role that says, the role this [explicit] claim played was to be an [invisible] assumption.

    4% picked this

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