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Difficulty: HardSufficient Assumption

Consider the following argument:

A terrestrial organism can survive prolonged exposure to atmospheric argon only if its cellular membranes contain cryptobiotic proteins. The newly discovered deep-cave lichen *Verrucaria argonensis* contains cryptobiotic proteins in its cellular membranes. Thus, *Verrucaria argonensis* can survive prolonged exposure to atmospheric argon.

The assumption "No terrestrial organism's cellular membranes contain cryptobiotic proteins unless that organism can survive prolonged exposure to atmospheric argon" logically guarantees the argument's conclusion.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is True.
The proposed assumption properly translates to "If an organism has cryptobiotic proteins, then it can survive prolonged exposure to atmospheric argon." When this conditional statement is added to the premise that the lichen possesses cryptobiotic proteins, it deductively guarantees the conclusion that the lichen can survive the argon exposure. It perfectly patches the illegal reversal flaw present in the original argument.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Translate the first premise into formal conditional logic.
Survive Argon →\rightarrow Cryptobiotic Proteins.
The phrase "only if" introduces a necessary condition, placing Cryptobiotic Proteins on the right side of the conditional arrow.
2
Translate the second premise and the argument's conclusion.
Premise 2: *Verrucaria argonensis* has Cryptobiotic Proteins. Conclusion: *Verrucaria argonensis* Survives Argon.
This identifies the explicit facts provided and the ultimate claim the author is trying to prove.
3
Identify the logical gap in the argument.
The argument commits a reversal flaw. It assumes that satisfying the necessary condition (Cryptobiotic Proteins) guarantees the sufficient condition (Survive Argon). To fix this, we need an assumption stating: Cryptobiotic Proteins →\rightarrow Survive Argon.
A sufficient assumption must completely bridge the gap between the provided premises and the conclusion to guarantee the conclusion with 100% certainty.
4
Translate the proposed assumption into formal logic.
"No X unless Y" translates to "If X then Y." Thus, the assumption means: Cryptobiotic Proteins →\rightarrow Survive Argon.
Proper conditional translation of the word "unless" is required to see if the assumption matches our required logical bridge.
5
Evaluate if the translated assumption guarantees the conclusion.
Yes. Applying "Cryptobiotic Proteins →\rightarrow Survive Argon" to the established fact that "*Verrucaria argonensis* has Cryptobiotic Proteins" deductively guarantees that "*Verrucaria argonensis* Survives Argon."
The assumption provides the exact logical bridge needed to make the argument deductively valid.

Key Concept

Conditional Logic Translation and Sufficient Assumptions
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Topics

Sufficient Assumption

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