Logical Reasoning

PT18 · S2 · Q7 Scientists are sometimes said to assume

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Scientists are sometimes said to assume that something is not the case until there is proof that it is the case.

Conclusion

This characterization of scientists is wrong. i.e. scientists do not .

Evidence

Suppose you were wondering if chemical X was safe. There's no way to know if it is or isn't.

There's no proof it's safe, so according to this supposed rule scientists follow, they would assume it's not safe.

But there's also no proof it's unsafe, so according to this supposed rule scientists follow, they would assume it's not unsafe.

That means they have contradictory assumptions:

No scientist would assume contradictory things.

Evaluate

The author undermined a definition / claim / generalization / rule by showing that if you trace some of the implications of this rule, you would arrive at absurd (dumb, meaningless, unthinkable) consequences.

Goal

Look for something like, .

7.

Which one of the following describes the technique of reasoning used above?

  1. A general statement is argued

    Bad Premise Match

    Does the conclusion argue that a general statement is false? Sure, the author says "this characterization of scientists (this general statement about scientists) is false." Does the evidence say that the people accusing scientists of believing this principle have deliberately tried to mislead? No, there's no language like that in the premises. The premises are just saying "if you follow the logic of this position, you'll see it's a crazy position (and scientists aren't crazy)."

    2% picked this

  2. Correct

    A statement is argued to

    Why this is right

    Does the conclusion argue that a statement is false? Sure, the author says "this characterization of scientists (this general statement about scientists) is false." Does the evidence say "if it were true that scientists believed this, we'd reach an implausible consequence"? Yes, the author's saying "by the characterization above" is equivalent to "if we took it to be true that scientists followed this principle". And the author ends up showing the implausible (i.e. absurd) consequence that a scientist would be forced to assume contradictory things.

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

    64% picked this

  3. A statement is shown to

    Bad Premise Match

    Does the conclusion show that a statement is false? Sure, the author says "this characterization of scientists (this general statement about scientists) is false." Does the evidence say that it directly contradicts a second statement? No. The author engages in a thought experiment in which she applies the supposed principle that the scientists believe. As she role plays their thinking, according to this principle, it results in them having contradictory beliefs. What this answer describes is an argument in which you say, "People sometimes say X, but they are clearly wrong. After all, we know Y is true and Y = ~X."

    25% picked this

  4. A general statement is shown

    Weak Conclusion Match Bad Premise Match

    The conclusion is saying that a general statement is "clearly wrong", not that it's "uninformative". And the premises have nothing to do with counting up and comparing the number of cases in which the principle is true and those in which the principle is false.

    7% picked this

  5. A statement is shown to

    Weak Conclusion Match Bad Premise Match

    The conclusion is saying that a general statement is "clearly wrong", not that it's "uninformative". And the premises have nothing to do whether or not "this characterization of scientists supports any independently testable inferences".

    3% picked this

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