Necessary AssumptionDiff: Hard
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Some people think your birth time dictates your whole personality, but a study found two people born at the same second in different cities who ended up with different personalities.
Conclusion: The claim that horoscopes completely determine personality is incorrect.
Reasoning: Two individuals born at the exact same moment in different locations (Toronto and New York) were found to have different personality types.
Analysis: The psychologist is assuming that these two people actually share the same horoscope. If the location of birth changes the horoscope even if the time is identical, then the evidence doesn't actually disprove the astrologers' claim. It’s the classic 'nature vs. nurture' debate with a celestial twist. We need to assume that being born at the same time is enough to guarantee the same horoscope, regardless of geography, for this argument to hold water.
Conclusion: The claim that horoscopes completely determine personality is incorrect.
Reasoning: Two individuals born at the exact same moment in different locations (Toronto and New York) were found to have different personality types.
Analysis: The psychologist is assuming that these two people actually share the same horoscope. If the location of birth changes the horoscope even if the time is identical, then the evidence doesn't actually disprove the astrologers' claim. It’s the classic 'nature vs. nurture' debate with a celestial twist. We need to assume that being born at the same time is enough to guarantee the same horoscope, regardless of geography, for this argument to hold water.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage21.Which one of the following is an assumption on which the psychologist's argument depends?
Correct Answer
C
C is necessary because if geography affected the horoscope, the two individuals might have had different horoscopes, and their differing personalities would not refute the determinism claim. Negation test: if the geographic difference did result in different horoscopes, the argument’s example collapses, so the argument depends on C.
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