City official: The newly constructed eastern bypass road will significantly reduce the severe traffic congestion currently experienced on Main Street. This is because the bypass will finally provide a more direct, faster route for heavy commercial trucks traveling between the industrial park and the interstate highway, meaning these vehicles will no longer need to drive through the city center.
The city official's argument relies on the assumption that commercial trucks currently contribute to the traffic congestion on Main Street.
Answer: Answer
Answer
True. The argument necessarily relies on this assumption.
The proposed statement is indeed a necessary assumption for the argument. The argument leaps from the premise that trucks will be removed from Main Street to the conclusion that congestion will be significantly reduced. For this reasoning to work, it is absolutely necessary that those trucks were a contributing factor to the congestion in the first place. If we negate the statement (assume trucks do NOT contribute to the congestion), the conclusion that removing them will reduce congestion falls apart. Therefore, the argument depends on this assumption.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Applying the Negation Test to identify necessary bridge assumptions between premises and conclusions.