Logic Breakdown

Passage Summary: Zobel claims a certain psychologist's ideas are wrong because the people who believe in them were essentially biased by their training and can't think for themselves.

Conclusion: Peterson's analytic concepts are incorrect and should be discarded.

Reasoning: The students who learn these concepts develop such strong emotional bonds with their teachers that they lose the ability to judge the concepts objectively.

Analysis: Zobel's argument is a classic example of the genetic fallacy, where someone attacks the origin of a belief rather than the belief itself. Even if we grant that the students are biased and unable to make objective judgments, that doesn't actually prove that the concepts themselves are false. A professional critique should point out that Zobel fails to provide any evidence regarding the actual validity or accuracy of Peterson's theories.

Passage Stimulus

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5.

Based on the information in the passage, which one of the following is the most accurate assessment of Zobel's claim that Peterson's analytic concepts are wrong and should be rejected?

Correct Answer
B
B is correct because it accurately captures the evidential gap: Zobel’s reasons address the potential bias of Peterson’s students, not whether Peterson’s analytic concepts are actually wrong. Therefore, the claim has not been established.
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