Logical Reasoning

PT139 · S4 · Q14 Every time people get what

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Every time people get what they want they feel pleasure.

Conclusion (we can conclude)

No one fundamentally desires anything except pleasure.

Evidence

Every time people get what they want they feel pleasure, which is the natural result of getting what one wants.

Evaluate

The author is arguing that the only fundamental desire we have is pleasure, since pleasure occurs whenever we achieve something we desire.

This logic seems weird. Let's say that Sally desires a spicy meal for dinner. And every time Sally eats spicy foods she gets a runny nose. A runny nose is a natural result of eating spicy foods.

Would we conclude from that ?

Of course not.

Goal

This argument is basically saying,

Let's look for an argument that is saying something like

14.

Which one of the following uses questionable reasoning most similar to that used in the argument above?

  1. I sure am enjoying the

    Bad Evidence Match

    The evidence doesn't have any premise like "Every instance of Y is accompanied by X", so we won't be able to re-create the same flaw.

    4% picked this

  2. I have never been skiing,

    Bad Evidence Match

    The evidence doesn't have any premise like "Every instance of Y is accompanied by X", so we won't be able to re-create the same flaw.

    2% picked this

  3. Correct

    Every time I eat pizza

    Why this is right

    We can match this up. The author is thinking, "Since X always accompanies Y, X must be the goal of Y." Every time I eat pizza, I get a stomachache. Every time I satisfy a desire, I get pleasure. Thus, The reason I eat pizza is to get that stomachache. The reason I desire something is for pleasure.

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

    69% picked this

  4. Every time I have gone

    Bad Conclusion Match

    This argument is pretty reasonable, but if we were to name a flaw it would be the assumption that Past = Present. This argument is saying, "Every X has been accompanied by Y. Thus, I expect that a future X will also be accompanied by Y." The original argument didn't say, "Every satisfied desire has been accompanied by pleasure. Thus, I expect that I will feel pleasure if I satisfy a desire tonight." The original argument was saying that "since pleasure accompanies every satisfied desire, it must be that the only thing I desire is pleasure". This argument would have to say, "since enjoyment has accompanied every time that Juilo and I go to a party, it must be that I go to parties with Julio for enjoyment".

    14% picked this

  5. I never enjoy a soccer

    Bad Conclusion Match

    This conclusion introduces a brand new topic (basketball), creating a Dubious Comparison type flaw. But the original conclusion doesn't introduce any new topic in the conclusion. It just switches from a premise about "X always accompanying Y" to a conclusion about "X always being the goal of Y".

    10% picked this

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