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Difficulty: MediumIdentifying Sufficient Assumptions

Historian: For a historical preservation project to be considered culturally comprehensive, it must include structures where ordinary working-class people lived or worked. The proposed waterfront restoration initiative will refurbish only wealthy merchants' estates and former civic administrative centers. Consequently, the proposed waterfront restoration initiative cannot be considered a culturally comprehensive historical preservation project.

Which one of the following, if assumed, enables the conclusion to be properly drawn?

  1. A
    Any historical preservation project that includes structures where ordinary working-class people lived or worked is culturally comprehensive.
  2. B
    A historical preservation project is culturally comprehensive only if it includes every surviving structure where ordinary working-class people lived or worked.
  3. None of the wealthy merchants' estates or former civic administrative centers were places where ordinary working-class people lived or worked.Answer
  4. D
    Most historical preservation projects that focus exclusively on civic administrative centers do not aim to achieve cultural comprehensiveness.
  5. E
    Structures that were used by ordinary working-class people are the only buildings that possess genuine historical significance.

Answer

The statement establishing that neither the wealthy merchants' estates nor the civic administrative centers were places where ordinary working-class people lived or worked.
The argument establishes a strict necessary condition for a project to be culturally comprehensive: it must include structures where working-class people lived or worked (If Comprehensive → Includes Working-Class Structures). The initiative only includes wealthy merchants' estates and civic administrative centers. To guarantee the conclusion that the initiative is not culturally comprehensive, we must prove it fails the necessary condition. Assuming that none of the estates or civic centers were places where working-class people lived or worked completely bridges this gap. It proves the initiative fails the necessary condition, triggering the contrapositive (If No Working-Class Structures → Not Comprehensive).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the argument's main conclusion.
The proposed waterfront restoration initiative cannot be considered a culturally comprehensive historical preservation project.
This sets the target statement that the sufficient assumption must guarantee to be true.
2
Deconstruct the premises providing formal logical support.
Premise 1 establishes a requirement: Culturally Comprehensive → Includes working-class structures. Premise 2 states a fact: The initiative refurbishes ONLY wealthy merchants' estates and civic administrative centers.
Mapping the exact logical boundaries highlights what information is missing to force the conclusion.
3
Identify the logical gap between the premises and the conclusion.
The argument assumes that by refurbishing ONLY estates and civic centers, the initiative fails the requirement of including working-class structures.
The conclusion relies on the unstated premise that estates and civic centers do not overlap with working-class structures. If they did, the initiative might still be comprehensive.
4
Select the option that acts as the missing formal link.
The correct option explicitly states that none of the estates or civic centers were places where working-class people lived or worked.
When this assumption is added, it proves mathematically that the initiative includes zero working-class structures, thereby violating the necessary condition and guaranteeing the conclusion.

Key Concept

Identifying Sufficient Assumptions via Formal Logic and Conditional Bridging
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Identifying Sufficient Assumptions

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