| Critical Reasoning Butler: April 2025 |
| April 6 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 Political theorist: The principle of airspace reprisal states that nations denied access to a portion of another nation’s airspace should deny that nation access to a portion of their airspace in order to pressure the other nation to restore access. If every nation made decisions as per this principle, no nation would allow foreign aircraft to enter its airspace.
The political theorist’s argument relies on which of the following assumptions?
A) In the case of any two nations, at least one has denied access of a portion of its airspace to the other.
B) No nation should deny access to any portion of its airspace to foreign aircraft.
C) Disputes over airspace should be handled by the international court.
D) No nation actually makes decisions, as per the principle of airspace reprisal.
E) Nations close their airspace to foreign aircraft to safeguard their domestic airlines.
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CR 2 Professor Lebiski: The most basic human need is food. Before humans discovered that they could grow their own food, all they did was wander in the forests and forage for fruits and meat. With the evolution of grass, humans learned that certain plants, grown near water bodies, can be consumed as food. This provided them the incentive to spend their time cultivating these plants in one location rather than roaming around, hunting for food. This geographical stability must have gradually helped the evolution of agriculture and, with it, of civilization.
Professor Gomez: The core aspects of this evolution of civilization were climate and the availability of water for plants. It is, therefore, no surprise that all the early civilizations were near large rivers and in tropical areas.
Which one of the following most accurately characterizes Professor Gomez’s response to the argument furnished by Professor Lebiski?
A) Professor Gomez provides a counterargument that highlights a flaw in Professor Lebiski’s argument.
B) Professor Gomez builds on Professor Lebiski’s argument and provides additional evidence.
C) Professor Gomez discards Professor Lebiski’s argument on the basis of the examples provided.
D) Professor Gomez’s argument is incompatible with that of Professor Lebiski.
E) Professor Gomez repeats Professor Lebiski’s argument with little additional information.