chetan2u wrote:
"Inability to concentrate" is a condition characterized by an inability to focus on any topic for a prolonged period of time, and is especially common among children five to ten years old. A recent study has shown that 95 percent of seven-year-old children with this condition watch, on average, more than seven hours of television a day. It is therefore very likely that James, age seven, suffers from this condition, since he watches roughly eight hours of television a day.
The argument above is flawed because it
(A) cites as a direct causal mechanism a factor that may only be a partial cause of the condition in question
(B) fails to indicate the chances of having this condition among seven-year-old children who watch more than 7 hours of television a day
(C) limits the description of the symptoms of this condition to an inability to focus for a prolonged period of time
(D) fails to consider the possibility that James may be among the 5 percent of children who do not watch more than 7 hours of television a day
(E) does not allow for other causes of this condition besides television watching
Responding to a pm:
Quote:
i chose E since having "alternate causes" wd weaken the arg......and that is a flaw.
what is tripping me is that this may NOT be a cause-effect but rather a syllogistic arg (from reading the answers in the post)
so, how do i figure out if this is not a C-E arg but rather a syllogistic one?
"Inability to concentrate (ITC)" is a condition...
95 percent of 7-year-olds with this condition watch a lot of TV.
James watches a lot of TV.
So, it is likely that James suffers from Inability to concentrate.
Forget the options for the time being. Focus on what is given and what we are concluding. 95% of children suffering from ITC watch too much TV. So if a child is suffering from ITC, it is highly probable that he watches too much TV (because 95% such children watch too much TV).
But if a child watches too much TV, can we say that he probably suffers from ITC? No.
Consider this:
Total children = 100
Children who watch too much TV = 50
Children with ITC = 10. Of these 10, 9 watch too much TV.
If I know that James belongs to 10 of ITC, I know it is quite probable that he watches too much TV.
But if I know that James belongs to 50 of too much TV, can I say he has ITC probably? No.
So that is the problem here.
Option (B) handles it.
(B) fails to indicate the chances of having this condition among seven-year-old children who watch more than 7 hours of television a day
The argument does not tell us how many children watch too much TV. So we don't know how prevalent ITC is in that group.
Answer (B)
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