| Critical Reasoning Butler: September 2025 |
| October 21 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 Our legislature is considering passing legislation to ban skateboarding on city streets, citing safety concerns. However, a review of public health records reveals that the legislature’s concern is misplaced. Each year, many more people are injured while jogging than are injured while skateboarding. So in fact, skateboarding is safer than jogging.
Which of the following indicates a flaw in the reasoning above?
A. It fails to distinguish professional skateboarders who attempt very dangerous maneuvers from amateurs who are comparatively cautious.
B. It assumes without warrant that no one who skateboards also jogs.
C. It fails to consider the number of people who skateboard as compared with the number of people who jog.
D. It ignores the possibility that other activities cause even more injuries than either skateboarding or jogging.
E. It fails to address the issue and instead attacks the character of the legislature.
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CR 2 We favor the registration of all firearms, regardless of type. The National Rifle Association has done a good job of persuading its members that registration is the first step toward confiscation of all weapons. Nonsense. Americans register, among other things, their cars, their dogs, and the births of their children. Yet, confiscation of cars, cocker spaniels, and infants has never been a great problem.
Which one of the following best describes the major flaw in the author’s reasoning?
(A) He ignores the danger to the general public posed by unregulated weapons sales.
(B) He ignores the potential for bureaucratic mismanagement of any such registration effort.
(C) He ignores the existence of dog catchers, tow trucks, and child-welfare officers.
(D) He ignores the differences between firearms and other items that make the former a more likely target for confiscation.
(E) He ignores the expertise of the members of the National Rifle Association.