The cause of the epidemic that devastated Athens in 430 B.C. can final

Question

The cause of the epidemic that devastated Athens in 430 B.C. can finally be identified. Accounts of the epidemic mention the hiccups experienced by many victims, a symptom of no known disease except that caused by the recently discovered Ebola virus. Moreover, other symptoms of the disease caused by the Ebola virus are mentioned in the accounts of the Athenian epidemic.

Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT:

(A) Victims of the Ebola virus experience many symptoms that do not appear in any of the accounts of the Athenian epidemic.
(B) Not all of those who are victims of the Ebola virus are afflicted with hiccups.
(C) The Ebola virus’s host animals did not live in Athens at the time of the Athenian epidemic.
(D) The Ebola virus is much more contagious than the disease that caused the Athenian epidemic was reported to have been.
(E) The epidemics known to have been caused by the Ebola virus are usually shorter-lived than was the Athenian epidemic.

Mohitstarc · Answer

All answers are out of scope 
Clearly B weakens the argument

Posted from my mobile device

akela · Answer

PowerScore Complete Question Explanation

WeakenX. The correct answer choice is (B)

In 430 B.C. an epidemic devastated Athens, and many of the victims had hiccups, according to
historical accounts. Since the Ebola virus causes the only known disease associated with hiccups,
and accounts of the devastation also discuss other symptoms of the same disease, the author of this
stimulus concludes that the cause can finally be identified as the Ebola virus disease.

Premise: Accounts of the devastation in Athens in 430 B.C. mention hiccups, and the
disease from the Ebola virus is the only disease known to be associated with
this symptom.

Premise: The same accounts mention other symptoms that are also associated with this
same disease.

Conclusion: The cause of the Athenian epidemic can finally be identified (as the Ebola
disease).

The stimulus is followed by a Weaken Except question, so every choice will weaken the author’s
argument except one — this means that four of the five answer choices will weaken the author’s
conclusion that the Ebola virus must have caused the epidemic that brought widespread devastation
to Athens in 430 B.C. The correct answer choice will be the only one that fails to weaken the
author’s argument.

Answer choice (A): If Ebola is known to bring particular symptoms, one would expect those
symptoms to show up in historical accounts. If, as this choice provides, they did not, this would
weaken the author’s conclusion that the Ebola virus must have been the culprit. Since this choice
weakens the author’s argument, it must be one of four incorrect answers to this Weaken Except
question.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.  The fact that at least one Ebola virus
sufferer did not report hiccups does not refute the evidence, which is that many of the victims did
have hiccups, a symptom of only one known disease—the one caused by the Ebola virus.

Answer choice (C): If certain host animals are required to carry the Ebola virus, and those animals
were not living in Athens in 430 B.C., this would tend to refute the claim that the Ebola virus was the
cause of the epidemic. Since this choice does weaken the author’s argument, it cannot be the correct
answer to this WeakenX question.

Answer choice (D): If the disease in Athens was known to be less contagious than the Ebola virus,
this would certainly hurt the author’s argument that the devastation was caused by Ebola. Since the
right answer choice must be the one that doesn’t weaken the author’s argument, this choice should be
ruled out.

Answer choice (E): This choice provides that the Athenian disease lasted longer than the Ebola
disease is known to last, which would certainly weaken the author’s claim that Ebola’s been
established as the cause. Since this hurts the conclusion drawn in the stimulus, it can be ruled out of
contention for this WeakenX question.

Pranavsawant · Answer

It is entirely possible that ebola is a contagious disease and was spread through humans instead of the host animal in the place of the epidemic. Let's say the host animal of the virus was located in Italy. A traveller got infected with the ebola virus in Italy and then visited Greece. He then transferred it to people of Greece via social contact which led to the epidemic. What I'm trying to say is that the presence or absence of the host animal in the location of the country does in no way weaken the argument. So C is also a valid option.

Are we sure this is an LSAT question? It's hard for me to believe that an LSAT question would assume that the host animal needs to be in the country for the virus to spread.

Are we sure this is an LSAT question? It's hard for me to believe that an LSAT question would assume that the host animal needs to be in the country for the virus to spread.

WhitEngagePrep · Answer

Be careful! I "weaken" doesn't have to destroy an argument, just make you somewhat more suspicious of it! Also, yes, this is an LSAT question - it's from the 2011 Test 63 (Section 1, Question 7. Hope this helps!

Whit

Pranavsawant · Answer

Restating the options here for reference: Each of the following, if true, weakens the argument EXCEPT: (A) Victims of the Ebola virus experience many symptoms that do not appear in any of the accounts of the Athenian epidemic. (B) Not all of those who are victims of the Ebola virus are afflicted with hiccups. (C) The Ebola virus’s host animals did not live in Athens at the time of the Athenian epidemic. (D) The Ebola virus is much more contagious than the disease that caused the Athenian epidemic was reported to have been. (E) The epidemics known to have been caused by the Ebola virus are usually shorter-lived than was the Athenian epidemic. Okay yeah you have a valid point there. Option B states that there are >= 1 people who haave the ebola and don't have hiccups. This is in line with what the passage says when it mentions that many (not all) of the victims reported hiccups. This means that there were some victims who didn;t have hiccups. So B is very well in line with the passage and doesn't weaken it. Nice question! Requires a bit more careful analysis

agrasan · Answer

(A) Victims of the Ebola virus experience many symptoms that do not appear in any of the accounts of the Athenian epidemic.
 Weakens , the author is concluding on the basis of hiccups and some other symptoms but if many symptoms didn't appear then it reduces the belief that it was the Ebola virus.

(B) Not all of those who are victims of the Ebola virus are afflicted with hiccups.
 Doesn't weaken , this option actually repeats the fact given to us. We are given  "Accounts of the epidemic mention the hiccups experienced by  many  victims.." , this itself means that  "Not all"  victims were affected.

(C) The Ebola virus’s host animals did not live in Athens at the time of the Athenian epidemic.
 Weakens , if source of the virus is not present in the region then it reduces the belief in the argument that it was Ebola virus.

(D) The Ebola virus is much more contagious than the disease that caused the Athenian epidemic was reported to have been.
 Weakens , this reduces the belief because the impact would have been more devastating than what had happened.

(E) The epidemics known to have been caused by the Ebola virus are usually shorter-lived than was the Athenian epidemic.
 Weakens , this reduces the belief because the impact would have been less devastating than what had happened.

yc168 · Answer

OE for reference:

Overview:  
The argument has three premises: (1) Accounts of the 430 B.C. Athenian epidemic indicate that many victims experienced hiccups; (2) hiccups are not a symptom of any known disease except Ebola; (3) accounts of the Athenian epidemic mention other symptoms that match those of Ebola. The argument concludes that the Ebola virus was the cause of the epidemic.

You are asked to identify the one answer choice that does not weaken the argument, i.e., the answer choice that either strengthens the argument or has no effect on its strength.

The Correct Answer:

B  The argument is based on accounts of the Athenian epidemic that indicate that  many  victims experienced hiccups. (B) says that  not all  victims of the Ebola virus experience hiccups, which is consistent with the accounts of the Athenian epidemic. So (B) does nothing to undermine the case for concluding that the Ebola virus was the cause of the Athenian epidemic. If anything, it strengthens that case slightly by confirming that this important observation from the accounts of the Athenian epidemic matches what would have occurred with Ebola.

The Incorrect Answer Choices:

A  (A) weakens the argument by providing information that weakens the argument's third premise. The fact that certain symptoms of Ebola were mentioned in the accounts of the Athenian epidemic is not a compelling reason to think that the Ebola virus was the cause of that epidemic once we learn that many symptoms of Ebola do not appear in any accounts of the Athenian epidemic.

C  If the Ebola virus's host animals did not live in Athens at the time of the epidemic, then it's hard to explain how Ebola could have infected Athenians. This makes it unlikely, or at least less likely, that the Ebola virus caused the epidemic.

D  If Ebola is much more contagious than the disease that caused the Athenian epidemic was reported to have been, then the hypothesis that the Ebola virus caused the epidemic is not fully consistent with the reported facts. The accounts of the Athenian epidemic would have to be inaccurate in this respect. This means that (D) weakens the argument that the Ebola virus caused the epidemic.

E  If epidemics caused by the Ebola virus are usually shorter-lived than the Athenian epidemic, then the hypothesis that the Ebola virus caused the epidemic does not explain the reported facts very well. If the Athenian epidemic was Ebola, it would have been an unusual instance of an Ebola epidemic. This reduces the likelihood that it was Ebola, and in this way (E) weakens the argument that the Ebola virus caused the epidemic.

The cause of the epidemic that devastated Athens in 430 B.C. can final

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The cause of the epidemic that devastated Athens in 430 B.C. can final

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