Match each argument with the fundamental unstated assumption required for its conclusion to be logically justified.
- Archaeologist: A newly excavated clay tablet from ancient Susa bears financial ledger inscriptions in an unusual cuneiform script. Because no scribal school records from Susa mention this script, it must have been developed by visiting merchants rather than local resident scribes.The scribal school records at ancient Susa would have documented the unusual cuneiform script if it had been developed by local resident scribes.
- Urban Planner: Commuters in Metroville will reduce their overall carbon emissions next year if the city replaces its municipal diesel bus fleet with electric buses powered exclusively by the regional power grid.Generating the electricity required to operate the electric buses will not produce equal or greater carbon emissions per mile than diesel bus operation produces.
- Software Director: Programmers at our studio who switched from standard physical keyboards to ergonomic split keyboards reported a 40 percent decrease in wrist strain over six months. Therefore, ergonomic split keyboards effectively reduce wrist strain.The reported reduction in wrist strain among the programmers was not primarily caused by other ergonomic or workload changes during the six-month period.
Answer
The ancient script argument matches the assumption regarding comprehensive scribal documentation; the municipal transit argument matches the assumption regarding electrical grid carbon emissions; and the programmer ergonomics argument matches the assumption excluding alternative workplace factors.
Each paired statement represents an assumption strictly necessary for its respective argument to hold under the Negation Test. In the ancient script argument, claiming that the script was not developed locally because it does not appear in scribal school records depends on the assumption that local development would have resulted in such records. In the urban transit argument, concluding that switching to grid-powered electric buses reduces carbon emissions requires assuming that electricity generation does not offset these savings with equal or greater emissions. In the ergonomic keyboard argument, attributing the reduction in wrist strain to split keyboards depends on assuming that other contemporaneous factors were not primarily responsible.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
A necessary assumption is an unstated premise required for an argument's conclusion to hold; if the assumption is negated, the argument fails.