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05 Jan 2026, 23:24
Kudos
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C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
Question Stats:
48% (01:26) correct
52%
(01:37)
wrong
based on 42
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Historian: We must reject the theory that the Library of Alexandria was destroyed in a wildfire. If it were true that the library burned down, then nearly all the ancient wisdom contained in its scrolls would have been lost forever. That would be an irreplaceable tragedy for human knowledge.
Which of the following best describes the flaw in the historian’s argument?
(A) Assumes that if an event’s occurrence would be historically significant, then evidence of that event must have been preserved and widely known.
(B) Assumes that the destruction of a single building would necessarily be the sole cause of the loss of ancient texts.
(C) Treats the undesirability of an event’s outcome as a reason to believe that the event did not occur.
(D) Presumes, without justification, that the contents of the library were completely unique and existed nowhere else.
(E) Fails to consider the possibility that some scrolls could have survived even if the building itself burned down.
Which of the following best describes the flaw in the historian’s argument?
(A) Assumes that if an event’s occurrence would be historically significant, then evidence of that event must have been preserved and widely known.
(B) Assumes that the destruction of a single building would necessarily be the sole cause of the loss of ancient texts.
(C) Treats the undesirability of an event’s outcome as a reason to believe that the event did not occur.
(D) Presumes, without justification, that the contents of the library were completely unique and existed nowhere else.
(E) Fails to consider the possibility that some scrolls could have survived even if the building itself burned down.
05 Jan 2026, 23:34
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commodinostrum
C is correct.
The argument rejects the wildfire theory solely because, if true, it would imply a disastrous outcome (an “irreplaceable tragedy”). But an event can be tragic and still have happened. So the historian is using “this would be awful” as a reason to believe “it did not occur,” which is exactly the flaw in (C).
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