Flawed ReasoningDiff: Hard
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: We found more types of frogs and salamanders than we thought we had, so environmentalists must be wrong about pollution killing them.
Conclusion: The environmentalists' claim that pollution is killing off many amphibian species every year is definitely incorrect.
Reasoning: Biologists have recently discovered that there are many more species of amphibians in existence than was previously thought.
Analysis: This argument suffers from a classic confusion between discovery and existence. Finding new species (an increase in our knowledge) does not mean that species aren't being lost (a decrease in the actual population). It's a bit like finding a twenty-dollar bill in an old coat and claiming you aren't losing money, even though your wallet has a hole in it. Look for an answer that points out that discovering more species is entirely compatible with many species being eliminated by pollution.
Conclusion: The environmentalists' claim that pollution is killing off many amphibian species every year is definitely incorrect.
Reasoning: Biologists have recently discovered that there are many more species of amphibians in existence than was previously thought.
Analysis: This argument suffers from a classic confusion between discovery and existence. Finding new species (an increase in our knowledge) does not mean that species aren't being lost (a decrease in the actual population). It's a bit like finding a twenty-dollar bill in an old coat and claiming you aren't losing money, even though your wallet has a hole in it. Look for an answer that points out that discovering more species is entirely compatible with many species being eliminated by pollution.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage11.The reasoning in the argument above is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it involves a confusion between
Correct Answer
E
E is exactly the flaw: the argument treats an increase in our knowledge of amphibian species as if it undermined claims about what is happening to the species themselves (extinctions), which it does not.
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