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Prof S doesn't need to make an official determination about whether Walters committed plagiarism.
Which one of the following, if true, justifies the above application of the principle?
Professor Serfin does not have
We want to know as strongly as possible that Prof S didn't think that Walters had knowingly presented other people's ideas. This says that Prof S doesn't have completely compelling evidence for that, but she still may believe it. I don't have completely compelling evidence that there's life on other planets, but I still believe there is.
14% picked this
If Walters had realized that
All we care about is whether or not Prof S believed that Walters knowingly presented someone else's ideas as though they were his. This doesn't tell us anything about what Prof S believes.
3% picked this
Although the main thesis of
Why this is right
This firmly establishes that "Prof S did not believe that Walters knowingly presented someone else's ideas as his own." The although part of this answer is a meaningless stall / distraction, hoping to hide from us the main clause, where we get the one fact we're seeking.
Skill tested: Principle-Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
81% picked this
Walters does not believe that
All we care about is what Prof S believes about Walters. This answer is about what Walters believes.
1% picked this
Professor Serfin has no intention
In order to apply the principle, we need to know whether Prof S believes that Walters did / didn't try to knowingly pass off someone else's ideas as his. This answer doesn't give us any information about whether Prof S believes that. If we were to speculate that "since Prof S isn't planning to make an official determination, that probably means that Prof S doesn't think Walters knowingly plagiarized", we would have no way to say that this speculative inference is stronger than (C) flat out telling us that Prof S doesn't think W knowingly plagiarized.
1% picked this
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