broall wrote:
The dean of computing must be respected by the academic staff and be competent to oversee the use of computers on campus. The only deans whom academics respect are those who hold doctoral degrees, and only someone who really knows about computers can competently oversee the use of computers on campus. Furthermore, the board of trustees has decided that the dean of computing must be selected from among this university’s staff. Therefore, the dean of computing must be a professor from this university’s computer science department.
Which one of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument?
(A) There are members of this university’s staff who hold doctoral degrees and who are not professors but who really know about computers.
(B) There are members of this university’s philosophy department who do not hold doctoral degrees but who really know about computers.
(C) Computer science professors who hold doctoral degrees but who are not members of this university’s staff have applied for the position of dean of computing.
(D) Several members of the board of trustees of this university do not hold doctoral degrees.
(E) Some members of the computer science department at this university are not respected by academics in other departments.
Same passage with different stem question:
LINKOFFICIAL EXPLANATION
(A) Yes. The argument sets up three criteria for the dean of computing:
1) She must have a doctoral degree.
2) She must really know about computers.
3) She must be selected from among the university’s staff.
The argument then concludes that the dean of computing must be a professor from this university’s computer science department. However, this answer-choice states that there are people who satisfy all three criteria yet are not professors.
(B) No. The argument sets up three criteria for the dean of computing:
1) She must have a doctoral degree.
2) She must really know about computers.
3) She must be selected from among the university’s staff.
This answer-choice does not meet criterion 1.
(C) No. The argument sets up three criteria for the dean of computing:
1) She must have a doctoral degree.
2) She must really know about computers.
3) She must be selected from among the university’s staff.
This answer-choice does not meet criterion 3.
(D) No. This is irrelevant.
(E) No. The argument sets up three criteria for the dean of computing:
1) She must be respected by the academic staff (must have a doctoral degree).
2) She must really know about computers.
3) She must be selected from among the university’s staff.
This answer-choice weakens the argument only if all members of the computer science department are not respected.