Flawed Parallel ReasoningDiff: Hard
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: If a government is respectable, it allows complaining and protects minorities; therefore, if it protects minorities, it must also allow complaining.
Conclusion: Any government that protects its minority populations also allows its citizens to criticize its policies.
Reasoning: All respectable governments permit dissent, and all respectable governments protect minorities.
Analysis: The argument exhibits a formal logic flaw: it assumes that because two different traits (dissent and minority protection) are both necessary for a 'respectable government,' those two traits must always accompany each other. In abstract terms: All A are B, and All A are C, therefore All C are B. This is a classic 'undistributed middle' or 'mistaken reversal' type of error. To find the parallel, look for an argument that takes two characteristics of a single group and incorrectly concludes that anything with one characteristic must have the other.
Conclusion: Any government that protects its minority populations also allows its citizens to criticize its policies.
Reasoning: All respectable governments permit dissent, and all respectable governments protect minorities.
Analysis: The argument exhibits a formal logic flaw: it assumes that because two different traits (dissent and minority protection) are both necessary for a 'respectable government,' those two traits must always accompany each other. In abstract terms: All A are B, and All A are C, therefore All C are B. This is a classic 'undistributed middle' or 'mistaken reversal' type of error. To find the parallel, look for an argument that takes two characteristics of a single group and incorrectly concludes that anything with one characteristic must have the other.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage19.The flawed pattern of reasoning in which one of the following most closely parallels that in the political scientist's argument?
Correct Answer
B
B matches the flaw exactly. From J (jazz musician) → I (can improvise) and J → R (can read music), it concludes R → I. This mirrors the erroneous move from W → A and W → P to P → A.
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