Philosopher: To explain the causes

Answer choices

1. A

   Overstretch: problem caused by SS's need5% picked this

   It describes a problem that the philosopher claims is caused by the social scientist's

   The philosopher is just presenting this conclusion as a fact of life -- a facet of scientific inquiry. We could describe this conclusion as a "problem", but it's more apt to call it a requirement of ascertaining causal relationships. The premise is not making it sound like idiosyncratic needs of social scientists creates a certain problem. The premise is saying, "One cannot tell whether X causes Y unless ... etc." This answer sounds too much like an accusation that social scientists' picky needs create a problem. The argument sounds more like "given the constraints of any science, social scientists need this sort of data".

   5%
2. B

   Not a Premise6% picked this

   It is a premise used to support a general theoretical claim about the nature of

   It's our Conclusion, so we can stop reading this the second we see "it's a premise".

   6%
3. C

   Not a Hypothesis13% picked this

   It is a general hypothesis that is illustrated with an example showing that there is a causal relationship between

   A hypothesis is a claim that tries to explain a phenomenon. Our conclusion is just a statement about what kind of data is needed to support a certain judgment. We could stop reading there, but the second half of this answer is also inaccurate. The premises do not contain any examples (specific person / place / thing). They contain descriptions of the types of data points we would be considering in order to better figure out if a causal relationship exists.

   13%
4. D

   Bad Premise Match10% picked this

   It is a dilemma that, it is argued, is faced by every social scientist because of the difficulty of determining whether a given cultural

   This is compatible with the idea that the first sentence is the conclusion. However, the evidence never mentions a struggle to figure out whether a cultural phenomenon is cause or effect. The evidence is saying, "in order to figure out whether a cultural phenomenon is caused by climatic/ecological factor X, we need to see whether factor X and this cultural phenomenon co-vary."

   10%
5. E

   Correct68% picked this

   It is a claim that the philosopher attempts to justify by appeal to the requirements for establishing the existence of

   Why this is right

   "A claim the author attempts to justify" = Conclusion. The evidence indeed explains the requirements for establishing the existence of a certain type of causal relationship: one cannot be sure that X is brought about by Y unless one knows that ___ and ___ .

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

   68%