Flawed ReasoningDiff: Easy
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: A scholar noticed that after some religions updated their old rituals and language, more people started attending, so the scholar assumes that modernization always causes attendance to grow.
Conclusion: Modernizing religious texts and rituals will lead to an increase in the number of worshipers.
Reasoning: The scholar observes that several religions updated their traditions and subsequently saw an increase in attendance at their places of worship.
Analysis: The flaw here is a textbook example of confusing correlation with causation. Just because attendance increased after the changes were made doesn't mean the changes were the cause of that increase. The scholar also makes a sweeping generalization, assuming that because it happened in 'some' cases, it will happen in 'any' such case. Look for an answer that points out the failure to consider other factors that might have boosted attendance or the leap from a few examples to a universal rule.
Conclusion: Modernizing religious texts and rituals will lead to an increase in the number of worshipers.
Reasoning: The scholar observes that several religions updated their traditions and subsequently saw an increase in attendance at their places of worship.
Analysis: The flaw here is a textbook example of confusing correlation with causation. Just because attendance increased after the changes were made doesn't mean the changes were the cause of that increase. The scholar also makes a sweeping generalization, assuming that because it happened in 'some' cases, it will happen in 'any' such case. Look for an answer that points out the failure to consider other factors that might have boosted attendance or the leap from a few examples to a universal rule.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage5.The scholar's reasoning is flawed because the scholar presumes without giving sufficient justification that
Correct Answer
C
C correctly identifies the unjustified assumption: that the observed increases in attendance were caused by the modernization of texts and rituals. The stimulus only establishes that the increases followed modernization, not that modernization was the cause or that no other factor explains the increase.
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