Flawed Parallel ReasoningDiff: Easy
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Just because most people in a specific successful group share a certain background doesn't mean everyone with that background belongs to that successful group.
Conclusion: Greta Harris is definitely a chief executive officer who earns more than $250,000 per year.
Reasoning: Most people who are high-earning CEOs attended prestigious business schools, and Greta Harris also attended a prestigious business school.
Analysis: This argument falls into a classic trap by confusing a common characteristic of a group with a requirement for membership. It observes that most high-earning CEOs have a specific trait (prestigious schooling) and then assumes that anyone with that trait must be a high-earning CEO. In logical terms, it treats a common feature as if it were a sufficient condition. To find the parallel, look for an answer that identifies a majority trait within a group and then incorrectly concludes that an individual possessing that trait must be a member of that group.
Conclusion: Greta Harris is definitely a chief executive officer who earns more than $250,000 per year.
Reasoning: Most people who are high-earning CEOs attended prestigious business schools, and Greta Harris also attended a prestigious business school.
Analysis: This argument falls into a classic trap by confusing a common characteristic of a group with a requirement for membership. It observes that most high-earning CEOs have a specific trait (prestigious schooling) and then assumes that anyone with that trait must be a high-earning CEO. In logical terms, it treats a common feature as if it were a sufficient condition. To find the parallel, look for an answer that identifies a majority trait within a group and then incorrectly concludes that an individual possessing that trait must be a member of that group.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage4.Which one of the following exhibits flawed reasoning most nearly parallel to that exhibited in the argument above?
Correct Answer
E
E matches the flawed structure exactly: Many successful opera singers studied more than one language; Eileen studied more than one language; therefore Eileen must be a successful opera singer. It illicitly converts a ‘many A are B’ fact into ‘B, therefore A.’
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