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Difficulty: Very hardParallel Principle Application

Political Scientist: A government is justified in restricting a product's sale only if the product poses a severe health risk and the public is completely unaware of this risk. The newly developed synthetic sweetener Dulcet poses a severe risk of long-term metabolic damage. However, the manufacturer has heavily publicized this risk in all of its promotional materials. Therefore, the government is not justified in restricting the sale of Dulcet.

The application of the principle in the political scientist's argument is most similar to the application of the principle in which one of the following?

  1. A university is justified in expelling a student for academic misconduct only if the misconduct was intentional and resulted in a significant unfair advantage. Smith's plagiarism on the final project was intentional, but because the project was ultimately ungraded, it yielded no unfair advantage. Thus, the university is not justified in expelling Smith.Answer
  2. B
    A city council is justified in approving a zoning variance only if the variance will increase local tax revenue and will not exacerbate traffic congestion. The proposed variance for the new shopping plaza will increase tax revenue without exacerbating traffic congestion. Thus, the city council is justified in approving the variance.
  3. C
    A building must be immediately evacuated if the central fire alarm is sounding and there is visible smoke in the corridors. The central fire alarm in the west wing is currently sounding, but security has confirmed there is no visible smoke. Thus, the west wing does not need to be immediately evacuated.
  4. D
    An employment contract is voidable by a court only if it was signed under extreme duress or its core terms are fundamentally unconscionable. The contract in question was not signed under extreme duress, although its core terms are fundamentally unconscionable. Therefore, the court is not justified in voiding the contract.
  5. E
    A film is considered a cinematic masterpiece only if it was highly influential upon its release and is still widely studied today. Most films that were highly influential upon their release are still widely studied today. Thus, most highly influential films are considered cinematic masterpieces.

Answer

The option regarding the university expelling a student for academic misconduct.
The stimulus follows a valid application of a contrapositive involving a compound necessary condition. It states: Action -> (Condition 1 AND Condition 2). It then asserts that Condition 1 is met, but Condition 2 is NOT met, concluding that the Action is unjustified. The correct answer perfectly mirrors this logical structure: It establishes Expulsion -> (Intentional AND Advantage). It states the act was intentional (Condition 1) but yielded no advantage (Condition 2), correctly concluding that expulsion is unjustified.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Map the formal logic of the principle stated in the stimulus.
Rule: Restriction Justified -> (Severe Risk AND Unaware).
The phrase 'only if' introduces necessary conditions, and 'and' connects them into a compound necessary requirement.
2
Map the application of the facts to the principle in the stimulus.
Premises: Severe Risk is True, Unaware is False. Conclusion: Restriction Justified is False.
This establishes the argument as a valid application of the contrapositive: if even one part of a necessary 'AND' condition is unmet, the sufficient condition cannot occur.
3
Evaluate the options to find an identical valid compound contrapositive.
The correct answer sets up Rule: Expulsion Justified -> (Intentional AND Advantage). It states Intentional is True, Advantage is False, and concludes Expulsion Justified is False.
The logical structure perfectly maps onto the stimulus without committing any logical fallacies.

Key Concept

Parallel Principle Application using Compound Contrapositives
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Parallel Principle Application

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