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Zorluk: ZorNecessary Assumption

Sociologist: During the late twentieth century, time-saving domestic technologies, such as automated dishwashers, were widely adopted by households. Paradoxically, surveys from that era indicate that adults in these households reported feeling significantly more pressed for time than adults had in preceding decades. It must be the case that the time saved by these technologies was quickly absorbed by new professional and social obligations, leaving these individuals with less actual free time than people previously possessed.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the sociologist's argument depends?

  1. A
    Whenever people adopt technologies designed to save time, their actual free time decreases due to the onset of new obligations.
  2. B
    The widespread adoption of time-saving domestic technologies was the primary cause of the emergence of new professional and social obligations.
  3. The adults surveyed would not have reported feeling significantly more pressed for time if their actual free time was equal to or greater than that of adults in preceding decades.Cevap
  4. D
    The surveys administered in the late twentieth century were designed specifically to measure the impact of domestic technologies on free time.
  5. E
    Adults who refrained from adopting time-saving domestic technologies did not experience an increase in professional and social obligations.

Cevap

The assumption that links the subjective feeling of being pressed for time to an actual, objective decrease in free time.
The argument makes a logical leap from a subjective premise (respondents 'reported feeling' more pressed for time) to an objective conclusion (they had 'less actual free time'). For this argument to function, the author must assume that the subjective feeling is a valid indicator of the objective reality in this context. By establishing that the adults would not have felt this way if their free time had remained the same or increased, the correct answer bridges this gap. When negated, it severs the evidentiary link between the premise and conclusion.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Identify the main conclusion of the argument.
The conclusion is that adults in the late twentieth century were left with less actual free time than people previously possessed.
Locating the main conclusion is always the first step in analyzing any LSAT Logical Reasoning argument.
2
Identify the premises supporting the conclusion.
Premise 1: Time-saving technologies were widely adopted. Premise 2: Surveys showed these adults reported feeling significantly more pressed for time than adults in preceding decades.
Understanding the evidence provided highlights the logical leap the author makes to reach the conclusion.
3
Spot the logical gap or shift in language between the premises and the conclusion.
The premises discuss a subjective perception ('feeling significantly more pressed for time'), while the conclusion makes a claim about objective reality ('less actual free time').
Necessary assumptions often bridge the gap between new concepts introduced in the conclusion and the evidence in the premises.
4
Apply the Negation Technique to the correct option to verify it is strictly necessary.
Negating the correct option yields: 'The adults WOULD have reported feeling more pressed for time even if they had equal or more actual free time.' This destroys the argument.
If an assumption is truly logically necessary, its negation must completely invalidate the argument's reasoning.

Anahtar Kavram

Identifying Necessary Assumptions using the Negation Technique
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Konular

Necessary Assumption

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