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Question

Difficulty: MediumAd Hominem (Source Argument)

City Planner: The community board's proposal to rezone the waterfront district should be rejected. The board's chairperson owns a significant amount of commercial property just outside the proposed rezoning area, so she stands to benefit financially if development is restricted along the waterfront.

Statement: The city planner's argument is logically flawed because it rejects the community board's recommendation strictly by pointing out the chairperson's vested financial interest, ignoring the actual viability of the rezoning plan itself.

Answer: Answer

Answer

True
The city planner commits a source argument fallacy (specifically, a circumstantial ad hominem) by rejecting the rezoning plan based strictly on the potential financial gain of the board's chairperson. The statement to be evaluated accurately identifies this exact flaw, making it true.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the city planner's argument to determine the conclusion and the supporting premise.
Conclusion: The rezoning proposal should be rejected. Premise: The chairperson stands to benefit financially from the restriction.
Deconstructing the argument is necessary to accurately evaluate its logical structure and identify any gaps.
2
Evaluate the relationship between the premise and the conclusion to identify any logical flaws.
The premise attacks the circumstances and potential bias of the person presenting the proposal, rather than addressing the proposal's actual content or consequences.
Identifying the nature of the premise reveals whether the argument relies on a valid line of reasoning or a logical fallacy.
3
Compare the identified flaw with the provided statement.
The statement perfectly describes the flaw found in the argument: rejecting a recommendation based on the source's vested interest.
This confirms that the statement accurately characterizes the logical vulnerability of the city planner's reasoning.

Key Concept

Ad Hominem (Source Argument - Circumstantial)
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Topics

Ad Hominem (Source Argument)

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