| Critical Reasoning Butler: August 2025 |
| August 6 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 A censorship organization that focuses on the protection of children from explicit content is appealing to ban comic books that contain the portrayal of extreme violence. However, comics represent a legitimate channel of communication, used by thousands of illustrators and authors as a platform for their talent and expression. Therefore, banning certain comic books will just lead to the banning of other forms of literature until books become unlawful altogether.
A major flaw in the argument above is that
A. it forms a prediction based upon a suggested cause-and-effect relationship
B. it diminishes the significance of the viewpoint that it opposes
C. it determines the outcome of a certain action that has yet to be performed
D. it completely ignores the reasons lying behind the appeal that it is objecting
E. it claims the inevitability of one event to follow another without sufficient evidence to do so
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CR 2 A recent university survey asked respondents to report the number of hours per week that they spend outdoors, and to whether they regularly feel symptoms of depression. The group reporting that they spend the most amount of time outdoors was less than half as likely to report feeling symptoms of depression as was the group reporting that they spend the least amount of time outdoors. These results suggest that spending time outdoors is an effective way to prevent feelings of depression.
Which of the following, if true, most calls in to question the conclusion above?
A. The survey only included respondents from the immediate geographic region surrounding the university.
B. The group of respondents who indicated on another question that they spend the most time exercising per week had an even lower depression rate than the group that spent the most time outdoors.
C. The survey did not distinguish between the amount of time spent outdoors in the summer versus the amount of time spent outdoors during the winter.
D. The conclusion overlooks the possibility that people who feel symptoms of depression often stay indoors as a way of coping with those feelings privately.
E. The results of the survey varied based on the age, gender, and education level of the respondents.