Flawed Parallel ReasoningDiff: Easy
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: A magazine editor is pointing out mistakes on TV, but because she makes those same mistakes herself, we should ignore her criticisms.
Conclusion: The magazine editor's judgments regarding spelling and grammar errors should not be trusted.
Reasoning: The editor has made the same types of spelling and grammar mistakes in her own magazine that she is criticizing in others.
Analysis: This is a classic 'ad hominem' or 'tu quoque' fallacy, where the author attacks the person's character or consistency rather than the substance of their argument. It’s the logical equivalent of saying a doctor’s advice to stop smoking is wrong just because the doctor smokes. While the editor might be a hypocrite, her hypocrisy doesn't actually prove her observations about the TV program are incorrect. Look for an answer where a person's own failings are used to dismiss their valid observations.
Conclusion: The magazine editor's judgments regarding spelling and grammar errors should not be trusted.
Reasoning: The editor has made the same types of spelling and grammar mistakes in her own magazine that she is criticizing in others.
Analysis: This is a classic 'ad hominem' or 'tu quoque' fallacy, where the author attacks the person's character or consistency rather than the substance of their argument. It’s the logical equivalent of saying a doctor’s advice to stop smoking is wrong just because the doctor smokes. While the editor might be a hypocrite, her hypocrisy doesn't actually prove her observations about the TV program are incorrect. Look for an answer where a person's own failings are used to dismiss their valid observations.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage1.The flawed reasoning in the argument above is most similar to that in which one of the following?
Correct Answer
B
B mirrors the tu quoque flaw: it rejects the news program’s judgment that the company’s hiring is unfair because the program allegedly engages in the same unfair practice. That’s the same structure as the stimulus—dismissing a criticism due to the critic’s similar fault.
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