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Difficulty: EasyFlaw in the Reasoning

Nutritionist: Any dietary regimen that successfully reduces systemic inflammation requires the complete elimination of processed sugars. Marcus has completely eliminated processed sugars from his daily meals. Therefore, Marcus's new diet will definitely succeed in reducing systemic inflammation.

Which of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the nutritionist's reasoning?

  1. A
    draws a conclusion about an individual based on a sample of research subjects that is unrepresentative
  2. confuses a condition that is necessary to reduce systemic inflammation with one that is sufficient to do soAnswer
  3. C
    disputes the established claim that processed sugars are a primary contributor to systemic inflammation
  4. D
    relies on emotionally charged language rather than objective evidence to support its final claim
  5. E
    mistakes an intermediate conclusion regarding Marcus's dietary habits for the main conclusion of the argument

Answer

The argument confuses a condition that is necessary to reduce systemic inflammation with one that is sufficient to do so.
The argument establishes that eliminating processed sugars is a required condition for reducing systemic inflammation ('requires the complete elimination'). It then commits the fallacy of Mistaken Reversal by concluding that because Marcus satisfied this requirement, the reduction in inflammation is guaranteed to occur. The correct choice precisely names this error by pointing out that a necessary condition was treated as a sufficient one.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the premises and conclusion in the stimulus
Premise 1: Reducing systemic inflammation requires eliminating processed sugars (Reduction →\rightarrow No Sugar). Premise 2: Marcus eliminated processed sugars (No Sugar). Conclusion: Marcus's diet will reduce systemic inflammation (Reduction).
Deconstructing the argument into formal components isolates the logical link connecting evidence to conclusion.
2
Evaluate the conditional relationship
Eliminating sugar is stated as a requirement (a necessary condition), but the author treats fulfilling that requirement as a guarantee of success (a sufficient condition).
Having a necessary factor does not preclude the existence of other mandatory factors that Marcus might still lack.
3
Match the identified logical error to the options
The statement describing the confusion of a necessary condition with a sufficient condition accurately captures this exact structural error.
Flaw questions require selecting the choice that accurately describes the specific vulnerability in the argument's movement from premise to conclusion.

Key Concept

Mistaken Reversal (Necessary vs. Sufficient Conditions)
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Flaw in the Reasoning

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