I think it is C by POE
A - I see no contradiction between the claim "Recently
someone has in fact proved Fermat's
theorem." and the conclusion "And since the theorem is provable,
your claim-that Fermat was lying or
mistaken-clearly is wrong.".
B - 'Person's character' makes it out of scope
D - 'provable' makes sense with the context
E - I see no 'true claim bla bla' and no 'false claim bla bla'
As for C,
The statement "Recently someone has in fact proved Fermat's
theorem" is necessary for the conlusion but not sufficient enough. That points out the error.
OlegC wrote:
Joseph: My encyclopedia says that the
mathematician Pierre de Fermat died in 1665
without leaving behind any written proof for
a theorem that he claimed nonetheless to
have proved. Probably this alleged theorem
simply cannot be proved, since-as the
article points out-no one else has been able
to prove it. Therefore it is likely that Fermat
was either lying or else mistaken when he
made his claim.
Laura: Your encyclopedia is out of date. Recently
someone has in fact proved Fermat's
theorem. And since the theorem is provable,
your claim-that Fermat was lying or
mistaken-clearly is wrong.
Which one of the following most accurately
describes a reasoning error in Laura's
argument?
(A) It purports to establish its conclusion by
making a claim that, if true, would
actually contradict that conclusion.
(B) It mistakenly assumes that the quality of a
person's character can legitimately be
taken to guarantee the accuracy of the
claims that person has made.
(C) It mistakes something that is necessary
for its conclusion to follow for
something that ensures that the
conclusion follows.
(D) It uses the term "provable" without
defining it.
(E) It fails to distinguish between a true claim
that has mistakenly been believed to be
false and a false claim that has mistakenly
been believed to be true.
_________________
Awaiting response,
Thnx & Rgds,
Chandra
close
100% (02:23) correct
