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Difficulty: MediumFlaw in the Reasoning

Musicologist: The upcoming symphony relies on a highly unusual compositional approach. Each individual instrument in the orchestra has been assigned a part that consists entirely of soothing, traditional melodies. Therefore, when the orchestra performs the piece, the overall acoustic effect of the symphony will undoubtedly be soothing and traditional.

The reasoning in the musicologist's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument:

  1. presumes, without providing justification, that a whole will possess a certain characteristic simply because all of its constituent parts possess that characteristicAnswer
  2. B
    takes a condition that is necessary for a performance to be soothing to be sufficient to guarantee that the performance is soothing
  3. C
    relies on an ambiguous use of the term 'traditional' to draw a conclusion about the overall acoustic effect
  4. D
    fails to consider that the individual melodies might occur simultaneously without having a causal relationship
  5. E
    fails to consider the possibility that a symphony could be considered soothing even if none of its constituent parts are soothing

Answer

The argument commits a Fallacy of Composition by inferring that a whole will possess a certain property merely because all of its parts possess that property.
The correct answer accurately describes the Fallacy of Composition. The musicologist assumes that because each individual part of the symphony is soothing and traditional (the parts), the entire symphony played together (the whole) will also possess these same characteristics. This overlooks the fact that individually soothing melodies can clash and create severe dissonance when played simultaneously.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the argument's premises.
Premise: Each individual instrument plays a part consisting entirely of soothing, traditional melodies.
Understanding the evidence provided is the first step to pinpointing the logical gap.
2
Identify the argument's main conclusion.
Conclusion: The overall acoustic effect of the entire symphony will be soothing and traditional.
Isolating the conclusion allows us to see exactly what the author is trying to prove.
3
Evaluate the logical connection between the premise and the conclusion.
The argument assumes that combining individually soothing melodies will necessarily result in a soothing whole, ignoring the high probability that playing many different melodies simultaneously could result in a chaotic or dissonant sound.
This reveals a part-to-whole flaw, formally known as the Fallacy of Composition.

Key Concept

Fallacy of Composition (Part-to-Whole Flaw)
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Topics

Flaw in the Reasoning

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