| Critical Reasoning Butler: April 2025 |
| April 16 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 Why save endangered species? For the general public, endangered species appear to be little more than biological oddities. A very different perception is gained from considering the issue of extinction in a wider context. The important point is that many major social advances have been made on the basis of life forms whose worth would never have been perceived in advance. Consider the impact of rubber-producing plants on contemporary life and industry: approximately two-thirds of the world’s rubber supply comes from rubber-producing plants and is made into objects as diverse as rubber washers and rubber boots.
Any of the following facts could be used as illustrative examples in addition to the example of rubber-producing plants EXCEPT:
A. The discovery of the vaccine for smallpox resulted from observing the effect of the cowpox virus on the hands of dairy workers.
B. The major source of our pharmaceutical supplies is plants, some of them commonly thought of as weeds.
C. Certain antibiotics were originally derived from mold growing on cantaloupes.
D. Plastic is a unique product derived from petroleum and petroleum by-products.
E. Hamsters and other rodents have played an important role in laboratory tests of medicine for use on humans.
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CR 2 It is important to distinguish between criticism and opinion. The purpose of criticism is to direct a commentary on someone or something with the particular goal of change. A person who criticizes the behavior of another is specifically hoping to effect a modification. The purpose of opinion, on the other hand, is simply to offer a viewpoint that does not require a change. A person who shares an opinion is generally providing a perspective that is intended to help another in making a decision. As a result, criticism usually has a negative connotation, whereas opinion does not. More importantly, not everyone is necessarily entitled to criticism, but everyone should be entitled to opinion.
Considering the statements made in the passage above very carefully, which of the following may be inferred?
(A) Criticism that is worded as opinion can be both appropriate and effective, because it provides the pretense of opinion while still effecting a change.
(B) Criticism and opinion are often confused with one another, because some mistake a negative opinion for criticism.
(C) Opinion is simply the phase of thought before one reaches criticism, so there is often not a clear distinction between the two.
(D) Positive, or constructive, criticism is equivalent to opinion, so all are entitled to share constructive criticism.
(E) The freedom of speech and of thought guarantees that all are allowed opinions, so government cannot and should not restrict the sharing of opinions.