Logical Reasoning

PT150 · S3 · Q3 Taxi driver: My passengers complained

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Taxi driver: My passengers complained when, on a hot day, I turned off my cab's air conditioner while driving up a steep hill.

Conclusion (So)

Turning off the air conditioner was the right decision.

Evidence

Even though my passengers were complaining because it was a hot day, I was driving up a steep hill and if I hadn't turned off the A/C that would have meant either driving more slowly or getting considerably worse fuel economy.

Evaluate

Since this argument acknowledges that there was a reason to turn off the A/C and a reason not to turn off the A/C, we could say this falls into the category of Principle-Strengthen questions that are Weighing Tradeoffs.

Our author ultimately decides that it was correct to turn off the A/C, so he must be assuming that the positives outweighed the negatives.

Goal

Look for a comparative answer like, .

Or maybe we'll see a Missing Link conditional answer like, .

3.

Which one of the following principles, if valid, most supports the taxi driver's reasoning?

  1. A taxi driver should not

    Bad Trigger Match

    The if idea goes on the left of the arrow, so the right side of the arrow would say "should not run the A/C". We want the right side of the conditional to match the conclusion, so this looks enticing: running A/C would should not make it difficult ? run A/C to maintain a consistent speed The right side matches the conclusion. Is the trigger applicable to our situation? No, we were never told that running the A/C would make it hard to maintain speed. In fact we were explicitly told that the engine is powerful enough to run the A/C while going up the hill without slowing.

    1% picked this

  2. Correct

    A taxi driver should run

    Why this is right

    An only if idea always goes on the right of the arrow, so the left side of the arrow would say "should run the A/C". We want the right side of the conditional to match the conclusion, so this looks enticing, because when we contrapose, we'll get "should not run the A/C" on the right side of the arrow. running A/C would should not cause fuel economy ? run A/C drop below normal levels The right side matches the conclusion. Is the trigger applicable to our situation? Yes, we were told that continuing to drive the same while running the A/C "would have decreased fuel economy considerably". It's not a perfect match, but it's close enough to make this the best available answer. It's surprising they went with a conditional answer, given the Weighing Tradeoffs nature of the argument, but they love to surprise us now and then.

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

    94% picked this

  3. A taxi driver should try

    Opposite

    This Weighing Tradeoffs answer would weaken the argument, because it's saying that the taxi driver potentially should have run the A/C at a lower rate, to strike a middle ground between maintaining fuel economy and maintaining a comfortable interior for the passengers.

    4% picked this

  4. A taxi driver should always

    Opposite

    This answer would weaken the argument, because running the A/C would have been the way to most likely ensure customer satisfaction. So this rule would tell the cabbie that he made the wrong decision when turned the A/C off.

    0% picked this

  5. A taxi driver's turning off

    Opposite

    The only if shows us the right side idea, so we would contrapose this in order to get language more like the conclusion on the right side: If passengers ? then turning off A/C do complain for short period is not acceptable Since the passengers did complain, this rule would be telling the cabbie that it was unacceptable for him to turn the A/C off for a short period of time.

    0% picked this

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