Marine Biologist: The recent severe decline in the local population of tufted puffins is driven by new commercial fishing operations off the coast. The puffin population started dropping sharply three years ago, precisely when these commercial fleets began large-scale harvesting of sand lance, the puffin's primary food source.
Statement: A cessation of the commercial harvesting of sand lance would result in a full recovery of the local tufted puffin population.
The statement above is a necessary assumption of the marine biologist's argument.
Answer: Answer
Answer
False. The statement makes a predictive claim about recovery, which is not required to prove the historical causal claim made in the argument.
The statement is not a necessary assumption because the argument only claims that commercial fishing caused the decline. It does not make any predictions about the future or claim that the damage is reversible. If we negate the statement (asserting that stopping the fishing would NOT result in a full recovery), the argument's conclusion—that fishing was the initial cause—remains perfectly valid. Since the argument survives the Negation Test, the statement is not logically required.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Necessary assumptions must be strictly required for the conclusion to hold; a causal argument does not inherently assume the reversibility of the effect.