Read the following flawed argument excerpts. Pair each argument with the statement that most accurately describes its specific logical error regarding conditional reasoning.
- All professional orchestra musicians undergo years of rigorous daily practice. Since Julian is an amateur folk guitarist rather than a professional orchestra musician, he clearly has not undergone years of rigorous daily practice.Treats a condition that ensures a certain outcome as though it is a necessary requirement for that outcome.
- A successful bakery requires a reliable supplier for high-quality flour. The new downtown bakery has secured the region's most reliable flour supplier, so its overall success is absolutely guaranteed.Takes for granted that a condition without which a phenomenon cannot occur is all that is needed to produce that phenomenon.
- Upgrading a factory’s ventilation system always eliminates airborne contaminants. Eliminating airborne contaminants inevitably leads to a significant decrease in employee sick days. Therefore, if a factory experiences a decrease in sick days, it must have upgraded its ventilation system.Concludes that because a specific initial action is sufficient to trigger a series of results, the occurrence of the final result proves the initial action was taken.
Answer
The correct mapping pairs the musician argument with treating an ensuring condition as a requirement (illegal negation), the bakery argument with taking a required condition as all that is needed (illegal reversal), and the factory argument with assuming the final result of a chain proves the initial action.
Each argument excerpt commits a distinct conditional reasoning flaw. The musician argument commits an illegal negation by treating a sufficient condition as a necessary one. The bakery argument commits an illegal reversal by assuming a necessary condition is sufficient. The factory argument illicitly reverses a multi-step conditional chain.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Necessary vs. Sufficient Condition Flaws