Match each logically flawed argument below to the abstract description that most accurately identifies its specific error in reasoning regarding the relationship between parts and wholes.
- The parliamentary coalition, as a unified entity, possesses the constitutional authority to unilaterally alter the nation's taxation structure. It logically follows that the representative from the northern district, being a member of this coalition, possesses the authority to alter taxation.Erroneously attributes a collective power or right of a group to an individual member of that group.
- Each individual neuron in the human cerebral cortex is entirely devoid of consciousness or self-awareness. Therefore, it is impossible for the human brain, which is composed entirely of these non-conscious cells, to generate consciousness.Infers that an entity must lack a certain emergent property on the grounds that all of its constituent parts lack that property.
- The total energy consumption of the manufacturing sector has sharply declined over the past decade, despite an increase in the number of factories. Thus, the Acme Manufacturing Plant must be consuming less energy now than it did ten years ago.Confuses a property that applies to a collection of entities in the aggregate with a property that applies to a specific entity within that collection.
- Every structural beam used in the framework of the new skyscraper is light enough to be transported by a standard cargo helicopter. Consequently, the completed skyscraper itself must be light enough to be transported by a standard cargo helicopter.Illegitimately infers that a whole possesses a physical characteristic solely because its constituent physical parts possess that characteristic.
- Because the epic poem is widely considered to be a masterpiece of modern literature, every stanza within the poem must be a masterpiece of literary composition in its own right.Presumes, without providing justification, that an aesthetic evaluation of a complete work must be equally applicable to each of its distinct subdivisions.
Answer
The correct pairings match the parliamentary coalition argument to the 'collective power' flaw, the neuron argument to the 'emergent property' flaw, the manufacturing sector argument to the 'aggregate property' flaw, the skyscraper argument to the 'physical characteristic' flaw, and the epic poem argument to the 'aesthetic evaluation' flaw.
Each argument commits a specific variation of the part-to-whole (Composition) or whole-to-part (Division) fallacy. The correct pairings accurately map the domain of the flawed inference in each stimulus—whether physical, aesthetic, aggregate, or collective authority—to the precise abstract description of that error.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Composition and Division Flaws (Distributive vs. Collective Properties)
Estimated Time:3m 0s