Logical Reasoning

PT145 · S4 · Q20 Selena claims to have psychic powers

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Selena claims to have psychic powers.

Conclusion

If we find out whether Selena's claim is true, we be able to know whether or not it's possible to have psychic powers.

Evidence

Selena claims to have psychic powers.

Evaluate

"Whether or not" is a binary, so the conclusion is saying

We should think through that binary: If her claim is true, then she does have psychic powers. So that tell us whether it's possible to have psychic powers? Sure. If she has psychic powers, then it's definitely possible to have psychic powers.

If her claim is false, then she doesn't have psychic powers. Does that tell us whether it's possible to have psychic powers? Not really. If she doesn't have psychic powers, how does that tell us whether it's possible?

Goal

We need to patch up what happens if we live in the world where her claim is false and she doesn't have psychic powers. We need an answer to convince us that

20.

The conclusion drawn above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

  1. No one else has yet

    Unrelated to Goal

    We need to know what happens if Selena doesn't have psychic powers.

    15% picked this

  2. Correct

    If it is possible to

    Why this is right

    The contrapositive says If Selena doesn't have psychic powers, then it's impossible to have psychic powers. And if she is correct about having psychic powers, then it's clearly possible to have psychic powers. So this proves the conclusion that if can find out whether she does / doesn't have psychic powers, then we'll know definitively whether or not it's possible to have psychic powers. Either way you go in that binary (she does / she doesn't have powers), you still get to a point where you know for sure whether or not psychic powers are possible.

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

    41% picked this

  3. It is possible to determine

    Unrelated to Goal

    We need to know what happens if Selena doesn't have psychic powers. This answer tempts a lot of people because it contains language from the argument, but whenever the author's conclusion is a conditional statement, we don't care whether the "if" condition is / isn't true. If I'm concluding, "if it were possible to live on Saturn, a lot of people would want to", you can't weaken my argument by saying, "Dumb-dumb, it's not possible to live on Saturn." I never said it was. Since you can't weaken my argument by denying the "if" condition, we're not strengthening my argument to affirm the "if" condition. Even if this answer were true, we wouldn't have proven the conclusion, because if it turns out that we determine that Selena doesn't have psychic powers, we have no idea what that means in terms of whether it's possible for anyone to have psychic powers.

    19% picked this

  4. If Selena’s claim turns out

    Opposite Right Side

    If this said, If her claim is false, we will know whether it's possible it would be a correct answer.

    8% picked this

  5. We will not be able

    Negation of Conclusion

    The conclusion was "if we find out, we will be able to determine" and this answer says "if we don't find out, we will not be able to determine"

    17% picked this

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