Logical Reasoning

PT149 · S4 · Q9 Politician: Some proponents of unilateral

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Politician: Some proponents of unilateral nuclear arms reduction argue that it would encourage other countries to reduce their own nuclear arsenals, eventually leading to an international agreement on nuclear arms reduction.

Conclusion (dangerous = opinion)

Acting on the basis of the argument that, would be dangerous.

Evidence (because)

This argument ignores the countries that are presently on the verge of civil wars. Many of these countries have nukes, and we can't rely on them to conform to any international military policy.

Evaluate

Whenever we do Main Conclusion (or Role), we remind ourselves that the Conclusion shows up, at least 85% of the time, in one of two ways:

- it's the very first sentence - it's some pivot / rebuttal idea

The first sentence here is not our author's opinion, so we know it's not the conclusion. But since it's somebody else's opinion, ("some proponents"), it sends a huge warning sign that the author will probably rebut this idea.

Sure enough, the 2nd sentence begins with a rebuttal opinion: acting on this argument would be dangerous

The final claims support this opinion.

Goal

We're looking for the closest meaning match to .

What would be a synonymous way to say the same thing? What does this argument refer to?

A synonymous expression would be, , or .

But if we substitute the pronoun "this argument" for its referent, we should be looking for something like,

.

9.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion of the politician's argument?

  1. Countries that are on the

    Unstated Assumption

    This does not at all seem like a rephrasing of "our acting on the basis of this argument would be dangerous". This answer reflects an idea that was never said, so it can't be the Main Conclusion. This is more an assumption that undergirds the final sentence.

    11% picked this

  2. Unilateral nuclear arms reduction by

    Opposite

    This does not at all seem like a rephrasing of "our acting on the basis of this argument would be dangerous". This answer reflects the opinion of "some proponents", but our author's conclusion is rejecting their argument as a dangerous basis for action.

    1% picked this

  3. Many countries cannot be relied

    Unstated / Unrelated to Goal

    This does not at all seem like a rephrasing of "our acting on the basis of this argument would be dangerous". This answer talks about whether or not countries would disclose the full extent of their capability, which was unstated and undiscussed, so it can't possibly be the Main Conclusion.

    3% picked this

  4. It is unlikely that an

    Unstated / Unrelated to Goal

    This does not at all seem like a rephrasing of "our acting on the basis of this argument would be dangerous". This answer reflects an idea that was never said, so it can't be the Main Conclusion. The author is making a point about what is presently the case, whereas this answer is about the indefinite future.

    3% picked this

  5. Correct

    It is risky for the

    Why this is right

    This seems like our best available rephrasing of "our acting on the basis of this argument would be dangerous". Instead of 'dangerous', they said 'risky'. Instead of 'our acting', they said "the politician's country to unilaterally reduce nuclear arms". And instead of "on the basis of this argument", they said "in hopes of achieving an international agreement on arms reduction".

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

    82% picked this

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