Logical Reasoning

PT149 · S1 · Q8 Lopez: Our university is not committed

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Lopez: Our university is not committed to liberal arts, as evidenced by its decision to close the classics department.

Lopez's Conclusion

Our university isn't committed to liberal arts.

Lopez's Evidence

It decided to close the classics department, and the study of classical antiquity has been crucial to the liberal arts since the Renaissance.

Warrington's Response

Studying classical works is definitely crucial to a liberal arts education, but you don't need a classics department to make that happen. Other departments often engage in that study.

Evaluate

Our job is to characterize the type of rebuttal or response Warrington offered. We can consider the Big 8 repertoire of Method answers (the most common structures they test): - analogy - counter/example for general claim - implications of logic - ruling out alternatives - suggesting alternate explanation - calling out a dubious assumption - raising an overlooked consideration - making a definition or distinction

If we were choosing from this list (we don't need to), we would probably go with "raising an overlooked consideration" or "making a distinction".

Warrington is saying to Lopez,

Goal

Raising the overlooked consideration that the study of classical works will still be done in other departments helps Warrington to make a distinction between "getting rid of the classic department" and "getting rid of the study of classical works".

Let's pick any answer that we can match to the text.

Warrington's argument proceeds by

offering additional reasons in favor
Opposite: in favor
Warrington is pushing back against Lopez's argument, not adding another premise in agreement.
1% picked this
claiming that the reasoning in
Out of Scope: appeal to tradition
Nothing Warrington says claims that Lopez is appealing to tradition. Warrington just says that Lopez is failing to consider that classical works will continue to be taught at this university, just within other departments.
2% picked this
mounting a direct challenge to
Too Strong: direct challenge to conclusion
If Warrington were directly challenging Lopez's conclusion, then she would be arguing (directly) that "our university is committed to liberal arts". She never speaks directly on that subject. She is only speaking on whether closing down the classic department is a sign that the university doesn't care about liberal arts. She doesn't think Lopez is right to see the end of the classics department as the end of classical antiquity being studied at this university.
10% picked this
responding to a possible objection
Offering Objection, not Responding to
Warrington is offering a possible objection to the reasoning in Lopez's argument. Responding to a possible objection would be something you'd do to help assist someone's argument. "Brian says we should have coffee, not tea at the wedding. And while some people might say that tea is more appropriate for the fancy setting of the wedding, the fact is the bride and groom are coffee lovers so Brian is right."
6% picked this
Correct
presenting a consideration in order
Why this is right
Warrington presented the consideration that the study of classical works will continue on, even after the classics department is closed, in order to undermine Lopez's fatalism that the university is not committed to liberal arts.
Skill tested: Method · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
81% picked this

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