Historian: Traditional accounts claim that the rapid industrialization of Norvalia in the 19th century was primarily driven by the construction of the national railway system. However, this narrative is flawed. The neighboring region of Southam, which was integrated into the national railway system a full decade earlier, remained almost entirely agricultural until well into the 20th century.
Evaluate the following statement as True or False:
The historian's argument proceeds by challenging a causal explanation for a development by pointing to a case where that development occurred without the presence of the purported cause.
Answer: Answer
Answer
False
The statement is False. The historian attacks the causal claim by presenting a case (Southam) where the purported cause (the railway system) was present, but the effect (industrialization) did not occur. The statement incorrectly describes this as a case where the development (the effect) occurred without the purported cause. This reversal of terms makes the statement an inaccurate description of the historian's method of reasoning.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Evaluating abstract descriptions of causal counterexamples.