| Critical Reasoning Butler: February 2025 |
| February 11 | CR 1 | CR 2 |
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CR 1 Hector: The government’s stimulus package will provide every citizen a sum of $1000, amounting to $30 billion in total expenditure. The stimulus package will greatly strain the government’s budgetary reserves and push us further towards a deficit. Thus, the stimulus will harm the government.
Vera: A windfall of $1000 will encourage citizens to spend more freely, increasing the amount of money flowing through the economy. As a result, government reserves through taxes will increase even if strained because of the stimulus.
Vera’s responds to Hector by
(A) illustrating that Hector’s conclusion is based on evidence that is irrelevant to the concerned issue
(B) questioning the believability of the evidence that Hector’s argument is based on
(C) concurring with the primary conclusion of Hector’s argument but interpreting it as justification for positivism rather than for negativism
(D) supporting Hector’s conclusion by providing an interpretation of the evidence Hector cites in agreement with his conclusion
(E) pointing out that Hector’s argument ignores an extenuating consequence
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CR 2 Scientist: Many consumers think that by consuming organic produce, they are saving resources, because it takes lower amounts of pesticides and fertilizers to grow organic produce than it takes to grow an equivalent amount of non-organic produce. However, the consumers are incorrect, since the amount of resources required for the general upkeep of organic farms is far greater than the difference in the resource consumption of the two types of produce.
Which of the following, if true, would provide the greatest additional support for the scientist’s conclusion?
A. A serving of organic produce costs up to five times as much as a serving of non-organic produce does.
B. Non-organic produce can be stored for several weeks, while organic produce lasts a much shorter time.
C. Organic produce grown in Mexico makes up an increasing percentage of the total organic produce sold worldwide.
D. Organic produce retailers consume more resources in keeping their products fresh than do any other type of food retailers.
E. Though non-organic produce must be kept in a cleaner environment, organic produce is far more sensitive to the presence of pests and fungi.