Sufficient AssumptionDiff: Medium
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Because Marxism is a scientific theory about how history naturally moves toward a certain goal, anyone who thinks it's just a plan for political action is wrong.
Conclusion: Interpreters who view Marxism as a political program for social transformation have misunderstood it.
Reasoning: Marxism claims to be a rigorous description of an inevitable historical process, which qualifies it as a scientific theory.
Analysis: The argument presents a 'Gap' between being a scientific theory and being a political program. The author assumes that if something is a scientific theory, it cannot also be a political program. To make this conclusion follow logically, we need a 'Sufficient Assumption' that bridges this gap—specifically, a rule stating that anything that is a scientific theory is not a political program, or that these two categories are mutually exclusive.
Conclusion: Interpreters who view Marxism as a political program for social transformation have misunderstood it.
Reasoning: Marxism claims to be a rigorous description of an inevitable historical process, which qualifies it as a scientific theory.
Analysis: The argument presents a 'Gap' between being a scientific theory and being a political program. The author assumes that if something is a scientific theory, it cannot also be a political program. To make this conclusion follow logically, we need a 'Sufficient Assumption' that bridges this gap—specifically, a rule stating that anything that is a scientific theory is not a political program, or that these two categories are mutually exclusive.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage19.The social scientist's conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
Correct Answer
D
If scientific theories cannot be correctly interpreted to be, or to imply, political programs, then from “Marxism is a scientific theory,” it follows that anyone interpreting it as a political program has misconstrued it. This seals the logical gap.
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