Logic Breakdown

Passage Summary: Some freelancers write for trashy magazines. No writer with self-respect writes for trashy magazines. Therefore, some self-respecting writers aren't freelancers.

Conclusion: Some writers who possess self-respect are not freelance journalists.

Reasoning: Some freelance journalists sell work to magazines with low standards, but no self-respecting writer would ever do so.

Analysis: The flaw here is a classic 'Some/No' categorical error. We know some freelancers (Group A) do something (Group B) that self-respecting writers (Group C) never do. This proves that some freelancers are not self-respecting. However, the conclusion flips this and claims some self-respecting writers are not freelancers. That doesn't follow! It's entirely possible that every single self-respecting writer is a freelance journalist who simply avoids the trashy magazines. Look for an answer that follows this 'Some A are B; No C is B; therefore, some C are not A' pattern.

Passage Stimulus

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14.

Which one of the following displays a flawed pattern of reasoning most similar to the one in the argument above?

Correct Answer
C
C mirrors the flaw: Some students (A) prefer history (B). No Calculus Club members (C) prefer history (B). Thus, some Calculus Club members (C) are not students (not A). It asserts the same invalid existential conclusion based on a Some and a No premise without any link guaranteeing that some C exists or that C overlaps with A.
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