Lou observes that if flight 409 is canceled

It asks you to provide the strongest opinion about this argument. Strongest would suggest Evelyn's conclusion is false, but here OA goes only as far as declaring it unwarranted.

No, I think you misunderstood the question.

The argument is of the following form:

If P, then Q.

But remember It never means ~P --> ~Q.

This is what Evelyn is saying. But then she said they won't be on time. This is also not true. We need to provide evidence to support this. It may happen that there are on time due to some other factor or they are late. So, concluding one case will be invalid.

This is what option B is doing, hence the correct answer.

Lou Premise But the flight was not canceled.
Lou Conclusion,-Therefore, Lou concludes, the manager will certainly be on time.
Evelyn replies that even if Lou's premises are true, his argument is fallacious. here evelyn is right
And therefore, she adds, the manager will not arrive on time after all. No support for conclusion hence it is unwarranted

Which of the following is the strongest thing that we can properly say about this discussion?

A) Evelyn is mistaken in thinking Lou's argument to be fallacious, and so her own conclusion is unwarranted... the first part is wrong
B) Evelyn is right about Lou's argument, but nevertheless, her own conclusion is unwarranted.
C) Since Evelyn is right about Lou's argument, her own conclusion is well supported. First part is ok but no support for her conclusion is given in argument
D) Since Evelyn is mistaken about Lou's argument, her own conclusion must be false. Evelyn is right about lou argument so this option is wrong
E) Evelyn is right about Lou's argument, but nevertheless, her own conclusion is false. there is no proof that her conclusion is wrong

Can a question like this be often tested in the exam?

Yes, it can be tested.


Just like this question, no one can say that such question cannot be tested

Can someone the difference between answer choices B and E and why B is correct?

Lou observes that if flight 409 is canceled, then the manager could not possibly arrive in time for the meeting. But the flight was not canceled. Therefore, Lou concludes, the manager will certainly be on time. Evelyn replies that even if Lou's premises are true, his argument is fallacious. And therefore, she adds, the manager will not arrive on time after all.

B) Evelyn is right about Lou's argument, but nevertheless her own conclusion is unwarranted.
E) Evelyn is right about Lou's argument, but nevertheless her own conclusion is false.


SidhantGupta04 A few key points here:

1) Notice that the only difference between B and E is one word, "unwarranted", vs "false". What is the difference in meaning?

"False" means "definitely wrong". This is an absolute statement, with no uncertainty.
"Unwarranted" just means "not justified, a stretch, not fully supported". So, "unwarranted" allows for some uncertainty on whether her conclusion is false or not.


2) What exactly is "her own conclusion"?

"the manager will not arrive on time after all."

The flaw in both Lou and Evelyn's arguments is that there could be alternative causes for being late, other than the canceled flight. However, we don't know whether or not these other possible causes of lateness will happen, so we cannot conclusively answer whether the manager will be late.

Therefore, the word "unwarranted" in B is correct.


I hope that helps, please tag me if you have further questions.

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