Archaeologist: Any ceramic vessel that is fired at temperatures exceeding 900 degrees Celsius develops a distinct vitrification pattern visible under a microscope. Microscopic examination of the pottery sherds recently excavated at the coastal settlement revealed this exact vitrification pattern. Therefore, the ancient artisans who crafted these sherds must have fired them at temperatures exceeding 900 degrees Celsius.
Which one of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the archaeologist's reasoning?
- AIt attacks the credibility of the excavators who discovered the pottery rather than addressing the physical evidence.
- BIt presumes that all ancient pottery artisans always followed the same firing methods regardless of their geographical location.
- It treats a condition that guarantees the presence of a physical characteristic as though it were the only way that characteristic could arise.Cevap
- DIt attempts to refute the conclusion by disputing whether the pottery sherds actually exhibited vitrification under the microscope.
- EIt confuses an intermediate conclusion drawn about the microscope results with the argument's final conclusion.
Cevap
The argument treats a condition that guarantees the presence of a physical characteristic as though it were the only way that characteristic could arise.
The archaeologist establishes that firing pottery above 900 degrees Celsius is sufficient to create the vitrification pattern. However, the presence of the vitrification pattern does not logically prove that the pottery was fired at that high temperature, because other processes (such as different mineral compositions or prolonged low-heat exposure) could potentially produce the same pattern. By assuming that firing above 900 degrees Celsius is the only way to achieve this pattern, the argument confuses a sufficient condition with a necessary one.
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Conditional Reversal (Mistaking a Sufficient Condition for a Necessary Condition)
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