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Difficulty: Very hardIdentifying Necessary Assumptions

Sociologist: During periods of rapid economic transition, a society can maintain high levels of civic engagement only if it possesses robust local institutions. Over the last decade, the nation of Oakhaven has undergone a rapid economic transition, which coincided with the widespread adoption of hyper-connected digital platforms. In this same period, Oakhaven's civic engagement levels have plummeted. It is clear, therefore, that the adoption of hyper-connected digital platforms eroded Oakhaven’s local institutions.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the sociologist’s argument depends?

  1. The decline in Oakhaven’s civic engagement was not caused entirely by factors that left its robust local institutions intact.Answer
  2. B
    Whenever a society experiences a rapid economic transition and a drop in civic engagement, its robust local institutions have necessarily been eroded.
  3. C
    Maintaining robust local institutions guarantees that a society will experience high levels of civic engagement during a rapid economic transition.
  4. D
    Hyper-connected digital platforms are fundamentally incompatible with maintaining robust local institutions in any society.
  5. E
    Oakhaven’s robust local institutions were the primary cause of its civic engagement levels prior to the last decade.

Answer

The correct answer is the statement that the decline in Oakhaven’s civic engagement was not caused entirely by factors that left its robust local institutions intact.
The argument concludes that digital platforms 'eroded' (destroyed or degraded) Oakhaven's local institutions based solely on the fact that civic engagement plummeted. Because robust institutions are only a necessary condition for high civic engagement, not a sufficient one, civic engagement could easily plummet while institutions remain perfectly intact. For the conclusion to hold, the author must assume the institutions did not remain intact. Applying the Negation Test confirms this: if the decline in civic engagement WAS caused entirely by factors that left the institutions intact, then the institutions were not eroded. This completely destroys the conclusion.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the conditional premise.
The rule is: High Civic Engagement (during rapid transition) -> Robust Local Institutions.
Identifying the formal logic provides the boundaries of what is factually established.
2
Analyze the evidence and conclusion.
Evidence: Civic engagement dropped. Conclusion: Digital platforms eroded (destroyed/degraded) the local institutions.
Understanding how the author moves from evidence to conclusion reveals the logical gap.
3
Identify the logical flaw in the argument.
The author sees that the sufficient condition (High Civic Engagement) is absent, and illegally assumes the necessary condition (Robust Local Institutions) must also be absent (eroded).
Civic engagement could plummet for reasons entirely unrelated to the local institutions, leaving those institutions perfectly intact.
4
Apply the Negation Test to find the necessary assumption.
Negate the correct option: 'The decline WAS caused entirely by factors that left the institutions intact.' If the institutions are intact, they were not eroded. This completely destroys the conclusion.
A necessary assumption is a statement that must be true for the conclusion to survive. If its negation destroys the argument, it is the correct answer.

Key Concept

Identifying Necessary Assumptions via the Negation Test and recognizing the difference between Necessary/Sufficient conditions.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Identifying Necessary Assumptions

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