Logical Reasoning

PT154 · S2 · Q5 Salmon farmer: Farm-raised salmon

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Salmon farmer: Farm-raised salmon is preferable to wild salmon due to its year-round availability, consistent quality, and cheaper price.

Evidence

As consumers’ desire for farmed salmon increases, the market for threatened wild salmon drops, which in turn leads to more wild fish being allowed to live and multiply freely.

Intermediate Conclusion

Wild salmon numbers will increase.

Main Conclusion

The best reason to prefer farmed salmon is ecological.

Evaluate

The evidence is generally about the popularity of farmed salmon leading to an increase in wild salmon numbers. Base on this, the conclusion claims that a preference for farmed salmon provides some ecological benefit.

What if the process of farming salmon somehow causes ecological harm? What if consumers' increased desire for farmed salmon is drastically increasing this harm? If any of this is true, it weakens the argument.

However, there's another potential flaw in the argument. There's potentially a gap between the evidence and the intermediate conclusion. If we have a reason to believe that might not actually increase wild fish numbers, that weakens the argument.

Goal

Keep an eye open for a correct answer that would weaken the argument in one of these two ways.

5.

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the salmon farmer's argument?

  1. Correct

    Farmed salmon are fed with

    Why this is right

    This highlights the potential gap between the evidence and the intermediate conclusion. If this answer is true, the process of farming salmon could reduce the amount of food available for wild salmon. Wild salmon might starve even if a declining market allows them to "live and multiply freely." If this happens, it's not guaranteed that the wild salmon numbers will increase.

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

    91% picked this

  2. Though some wild salmon may

    Out of Scope

    This answer doesn't give us much new information, if any. The first sentence already states that the quality of farmed salmon is more consistent than wild salmon. And that first sentence is an opposing idea that the argument pivots away from. Quality doesn't play a direct role in the actual argument. This answer doesn't weaken any link between the evidence and intermediate conclusion, or between the IC and the main conclusion.

    1% picked this

  3. Most people who eat salmon

    Opposite (if anything)

    The taste of fish is an element of the quality, so we might say that this answer is out of scope for the same reason that choice B is out of scope. Quality doesn't play a direct role in the actual argument. However, the conclusion does indicate that quality isn't the best reason to prefer farmed fish over wild fish. If anything, this answer gives us another reason to believe that quality (taste) isn't the best reason. This answer might strengthen the argument, not weaken it.

    2% picked this

  4. Limits on the number of

    Out of Scope

    This answer is similar to choice B. It doesn't really give us any new information. The first sentence already states that farmed salmon is cheaper. And price doesn't play a direct role in the actual argument. This answer doesn't weaken any link between the evidence and intermediate conclusion, or between the IC and the main conclusion.

    3% picked this

  5. Wild salmon are more likely

    Out of Scope

    This answer seems to be giving us another reason to prefer farmed salmon. But it doesn't impact the actual argument. It doesn't impact the assumption that more wild salmon being allowed to live and multiply freely will result in their numbers increasing. And it doesn't impact the assumption that an increase in the number of wild salmon due to a preference for farmed salmon creates an ecological benefit.

    3% picked this

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