NA08 wrote:
Hi
GMATNinja GMATNinjatwo I can't understand why option E is incorrect. We can have fewer correct beliefs but we can still have many beliefs. We haven't been told that we need many correct beliefs in order to survive. How's my understanding wrong?
Thank you!
As you point out, the author never says that we need many
correct beliefs in order to survive. Rather, the author merely states that "we need
many beliefs in order to survive." In other words, the author's argument doesn't hinge on whether our many beliefs are correct or not.
Let's now consider (E):
Quote:
The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it
(E) takes for granted that the beliefs we need in order to have many beliefs must all be correct beliefs
Is this a flaw in the argument? Not really.
The author points out that the statistician's claim can only
reduce our number of beliefs over time. As a result, whether our beliefs are true or not, we will eventually end up with fewer beliefs if we follow the statistician's suggestion. And according to the author, since we need many beliefs to survive, the statistician must be wrong.
Notice this argument doesn't hinge on whether our beliefs are true or not. It simply rests on the idea that the statistician's suggestion will
reduce our total number of beliefs, true OR false, which will hinder our ability to survive.
So since (E) isn't taken for granted by the author, and since it doesn't point out a flaw in the argument, it's incorrect.
I hope that helps!