Necessary AssumptionDiff: Medium
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: People think vampires turning into bats is a core part of the legend because of the book Dracula. The author says that's wrong because vampire stories were around way before that book was written.
Conclusion: The belief that turning into a bat is an essential part of the original vampire myth is incorrect.
Reasoning: Vampire myths were present in European culture well before Bram Stoker wrote his novel in 1897.
Analysis: The author assumes that because the myths existed before the book, the 'bat-shifting' trait couldn't have been part of those earlier myths. This is a significant logical gap; just because a myth is old doesn't mean it didn't already include bats before Stoker popularized it. To make this argument work, the author needs it to be true that those pre-Stoker myths didn't already feature vampires turning into bats. If they did, the author's evidence wouldn't actually disprove the 'essential' nature of the bat trait. It's a bit like saying 'The Beatles didn't invent rock music, so guitars aren't essential to rock'—it only works if guitars weren't there before the Beatles.
Conclusion: The belief that turning into a bat is an essential part of the original vampire myth is incorrect.
Reasoning: Vampire myths were present in European culture well before Bram Stoker wrote his novel in 1897.
Analysis: The author assumes that because the myths existed before the book, the 'bat-shifting' trait couldn't have been part of those earlier myths. This is a significant logical gap; just because a myth is old doesn't mean it didn't already include bats before Stoker popularized it. To make this argument work, the author needs it to be true that those pre-Stoker myths didn't already feature vampires turning into bats. If they did, the author's evidence wouldn't actually disprove the 'essential' nature of the bat trait. It's a bit like saying 'The Beatles didn't invent rock music, so guitars aren't essential to rock'—it only works if guitars weren't there before the Beatles.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage18.Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?
Correct Answer
D
D is required. If we negate it (i.e., all earlier European vampire myths portrayed vampires as able to turn into bats), then the fact that such myths predated Dracula gives no reason to reject bat-transformation as essential. So D is necessary for the argument to work.
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