Linguist: The indigenous language of the isolated valley community could not have evolved entirely from the language of the neighboring mountain tribes. There are fundamental syntactic structures in the valley language that are completely absent from the mountain language. Clearly, then, the valley language must have developed completely independently of any other known language in the region.
Which one of the following exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning most similar to that exhibited by the linguist's argument?
- AThe sharp drop in the tech company's stock price cannot be entirely due to the broader market downturn. The drop coincided exactly with the CEO's controversial television interview. Therefore, the interview must have been the sole catalyst for the stock's decline.
- BThe candidate's economic proposal cannot be deemed a purely conservative strategy. The candidate has repeatedly insisted that the primary goal of the policy is the conservation of natural resources. Consequently, the proposal is actually an environmentalist strategy.
- The new software update could not have been created solely by the company's internal development team. The update includes a revolutionary encryption algorithm that the internal team lacks the expertise to design. Therefore, the update must have been purchased in its entirety from a third-party vendor.Answer
- DA comprehensive health policy must either reduce overall medical costs or substantially improve patient outcomes. The government's new regional health initiative successfully reduced medical costs. Thus, the initiative must be considered a comprehensive health policy.
- EAn architectural design cannot win the international commission unless it incorporates sustainable energy systems. The firm's recent submission features a fully self-sustaining solar grid. Therefore, the submission is certain to win the commission.
Answer
The argument concluding that the software update must have been purchased in its entirety from a third-party vendor perfectly parallels the flawed reasoning found in the stimulus.
The correct response successfully mirrors the flawed logical structure of the stimulus. The linguist's argument commits a false dilemma by assuming that if a language did not evolve entirely from one specific source, it must have developed completely independently. It arbitrarily ignores the obvious middle ground of a mixed origin (e.g., partial influence from the mountain tribes combined with other external sources). Similarly, the correct argument assumes that if the software was not created solely by the internal team, it must have been purchased in its entirety from a third party, committing the identical fallacy of ignoring a collaborative middle ground.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
False Dilemma (Parallel Flaw)