Historian: Leibniz, the seventeenth century philosopher, published his

Question

Historian: Leibniz, the seventeenth century philosopher, published his version of calculus before Newton did. But then Newton revealed his private notebooks, which showed he had been using these ideas for at least a decade before Leibniz's publication. Newton also claimed that he had disclosed these ideas to Leibniz in a letter shortly before Leibniz's publication. Yet close examination of the letter shows that Newton's few cryptic remarks did not reveal anything important about calculus. Thus, Leibniz and Newton each independently discovered calculus.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

(A) Leibniz did not tell anyone about calculus prior to publishing his version if it.

(B) No third person independently discovered calculus prior to Newton and Leibniz.

(C) Newton believed that Leibniz was able to learn something important about calculus from his letter to him.

(D) Neither Newton nor Leibniz knew that the other had developed a version of calculus prior to Leibniz's publication.

(E) Neither Leibniz nor Newton learned crucial details about calculus from some third source.

souvik101990 · Accepted Answer

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The conclusion of the argument asserts that Leibniz and Newton each independently discovered calculus, and in drawing the conclusion the author addresses the possibility Newton may have influenced Leibniz, and then rejects that possibility. A review of the argument does not reveal any conspicuous flaws, and so upon encountering the question stem, you should expect to see a Defender answer. As such, do not spend time trying to prephrase and answer - just make sure you know the facts of the argument.

Answer Choice (A): The argument is about the independent discovery of calculus; the author makes no assumption that Leibniz did not tell anyone else, and indeed the fact that Newton did tell Leibniz is not accepted by the author as undermining the conclusion.

Answer Choice (B): Negate the answer: "A third person independently discovered calculus prior to Newton and Leibniz." Would this negated answer attack the argument? No, the author would just assert that three different parties independently discovered calculus.

Answer Choice (C): The author cites Newton's letter as evidence that Newton felt he had disclosed ideas to Leibniz prior to Leibniz's publication date. No assumption is made that Newton felt that what was disclosed allowed Leibniz to learn something important. If you are uncertain of this answer, negate the choice to see if it weakens the argument.

Answer Choice (D): This is clearly not an assumption of the argument because the author discusses Newton's letter to Leibniz prior to Leibniz's publication date.

Answer Choice (E): This is the correct answer.  The answer can be difficult because it is somewhat similar to answer choice (B), which many people already eliminated by the time they reached this answer. Answer (E) is different from answer (B) because it involves learning details from a third source. This is important because the conclusion references the independent discovery of calculus, and so the author must believe that neither Newton nor Leibniz learned anything substantial about calculus from other sources.

anairamitch1804 · Answer

A: Negate: Leibniz told someone prior to publishing. Still our conclusion stands corrected that Leibniz independently discovered calculus.

B: Negate: Third person independently discovered calculus. But it does not destroy our conclusion that Leibniz and Newton each independently discovered calculus. We can merely add this third person to the list.

C: Clearly irrelevant. It kind of opposes the Premise " Yet close examination of the letter shows that Newton’s few cryptic remarks did not reveal anything important about calculus." . Let Newton believe what he thinks but this is not what the author believes.

D: If they (Newton and Leibniz) knew also either of them is working on same thing unless there is SHARING of the relevant thoughts it cannot be hold as a proper assumption.

E: Left after Process of Elimination. If they have copied from a same third resource then there is no way we can say Leibniz and Newton each independently discovered calculus. By negating, the Bold part is violated here.

sharathnair14 · Answer

The Conclusion says Leibniz, as well as Newton, each discovered Calculus independently. 
The Argument wants you to believe that they did not rely on each other whatsoever for their versions of Calculus, nor did they refer to external material.

A scenario that can cause one to dismiss this is - if there was ever a third source that both these discoveries were based on. 
Option E rules out such a scenario. Hence, a required assumption.

saman283 · Answer

VeritasKarishma  @e-GMAT can you help me understand how does the negation of option E breaks the argument?

The conclusion is that Liebniz and Newton discovered calculus independently - meaning there was NO connection between their discoveries.

Now let's look at what option E says

If I negate the above statement I am left with  either Newton or Leibniz learned about calculus from some third source .

Since we are talking about "either/or" one possible scenario can be Newton learned about calculus from a third source while Leibniz did not. Here in this scenario, their discoveries could very well be independent of each other. Who says that there is a connection between Newton's discovery and Leibniz's just because Newton copied from third source? Hence, how can we say that the argument is broken for E to be correct?

wishmasterdj · Answer

close one between B and E. If you are also stuck between them ->
I guess E is stronger than B, because while B just mentions a third person discovering it as well, it does not establish that he could have anything to with either N or L, whereas E just directly attacks the inference by presenting a common source from which both N and L could have learnt about calculus

unraveled · Answer

Historian: Leibniz, the seventeenth century philosopher, published his version of calculus before Newton did. But then Newton revealed his private notebooks, which showed he had been using these ideas for at least a decade before Leibniz's publication. Newton also claimed that he had disclosed these ideas to Leibniz in a letter shortly before Leibniz's publication. Yet close examination of the letter shows that Newton's few cryptic remarks did not reveal anything important about calculus. Thus, Leibniz and Newton each independently discovered calculus.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

(A) Leibniz  did not tell anyone  about calculus prior to publishing his version if it. - WRONG. It's about either of them independently discovering calculus and not about telling it anyone which does not impacts or helps us know whether they did so independently.

(B) No  third person independently discovered  calculus prior to Newton and Leibniz. - WRONG. 2nd best choice for me. If so even then we need further assumptions to be made for it to be the right choice. Not a necessary assumption.

(C) Newton  believed  that Leibniz was able to learn something important about calculus from his letter to him. - WRONG. irrelevant.

(D) Neither Newton nor Leibniz  knew that the other had developed a version of calculus prior  to Leibniz's publication. - WRONG. Disputing the passage.

(E)  Neither  Leibniz nor Newton  learned crucial details about calculus from some third source . - CORRECT. If they did so then it breaks the passage.

Answer E.

sldisek783 · Answer

Type: Argument
Conclusion: Leibniz and Newton each independently discovered calculus
Premise: A close examination of the letter shows that Newton's few cryptic remarks did not reveal anything important about calculus
Assumptions:
1. they didn’t develop it together 2. they each learned it from some third source

Answer: (E) Neither Leibniz nor Newton learned crucial details about calculus from some third source.

Historian: Leibniz, the seventeenth century philosopher, published his

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Historian: Leibniz, the seventeenth century philosopher, published his

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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