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655-705 Level|   Logical Flaw|         
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Bunuel
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But 13 Mar 2020, 01:16
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B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

65% (hard)

Question Stats:

49% (01:33) correct 51% (01:46) wrong based on 434 sessions

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Competition Mode Question



The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But she will not go if I stay. So we will both have to go.

What is the flaw in the reasoning above?


(A) The first claim, that the situation has gotten worse, is irrelevant.

(B) A possible course of action is overlooked.

(C) It is assumed that staying is the same as not going.

(D) The conclusion refers to a possibility that is not explicitly referred to in any of the premises.

(E) Insufficient information is given about the circumstances.
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B
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But Updated on: 16 Mar 2020, 04:36
Originally posted by exc4libur on 13 Mar 2020, 04:40.
Last edited by exc4libur on 16 Mar 2020, 04:36, edited 1 time in total.
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Quote:
The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But she will not go if I stay. So we will both have to go.

What is the flaw in the reasoning above?


(A) The first claim, that the situation has gotten worse, is irrelevant.

(B) A possible course of action is overlooked.

(C) It is assumed that staying is the same as not going.

(D) The conclusion refers to a possibility that is not explicitly referred to in any of the premises.

(E) Insufficient information is given about the circumstances.
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Ans (B)
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But 13 Mar 2020, 06:32
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1) I stay --> Eliz goes
2) I stay --> Eliz stays

Possible Conclusion:
1) Eliz goes and I go
2) I go alone


Even if (A), (C), and (E) are all true, they are not a flaw in the argument.

(D) is wrong. The conclusion refers to a possibility that is referred to in any of the premises.

(B) is CORRECT ANSWER, because A possible course of action (second conclusion) is overlooked.

FINAL ANSWER IS (B)
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But 14 Mar 2020, 12:08
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B is the right answer.

Quote:
The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But she will not go if I stay. So we will both have to go.

What is the flaw in the reasoning above?
Show more

Premise 1: Unless Elizabeth goes I must go.
Premise 2: But she will not go if I stay.
Conclusion: We will both have to go.

From Premise 1, we can form the following valid logic diagrams: Elizabeth doesn't go ----> I go, and I don't go -----> Elizabeth goes
From Premise 2, the following logic diagram can be formed: I stay (I don't go) -----> Elizabeth doesn't go, and Elizabeth goes ----->I go (I don't stay)

Possible Logic chains:
1. I don't go -----> Elizabeth doesn't go -----> I go
2. I don't go ----> Elizabeth goes ----->I go

We can clearly see that the conclusion drawn in the argument above is based on the logic chain 2, whereby my going (i.e. I go) is the required condition for Elizabeth to go. Hence it is valid to say we will both have to go. However, we can equally form another conclusion from logic chain 1, whereby my going (i.e. I go) is the required condition for Elizabeth not to go. So, by the author focusing only on one possible outcome out of the given premises, when there is at least one other valid outcome/conclusion that can be drawn from chain 1, the argument is subject to the flaw of overlooking other possible courses of action. Based on this, B is the right answer.

Quote:
(A) The first claim, that the situation has gotten worse, is irrelevant.
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The conclusion of the argument is not hinged on the relevance or irrelevance of the first claim that the situation has gotten worse. A is therefore irrelevant to the argument.

Quote:
(B) A possible course of action is overlooked.
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Correct per the reasoning above.

Quote:
(C) It is assumed that staying is the same as not going.
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Irrelevant. There are two options. Either I go, or I don't go. If I stay, it implies I didn't go or if Elizabeth stays, it implies she didn't go.

Quote:
(D) The conclusion refers to a possibility that is not explicitly referred to in any of the premises.
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Incorrect as we can clearly see that the conclusion of the argument holds or is valid along logic chain 2.

Quote:
(E) Insufficient information is given about the circumstances.
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Incorrect. There is adequate information leading to valid courses of action.
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But 16 Mar 2020, 04:09
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Bunuel

Competition Mode Question



The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But she will not go if I stay. So we will both have to go.

What is the flaw in the reasoning above?


(A) The first claim, that the situation has gotten worse, is irrelevant.

(B) A possible course of action is overlooked.

(C) It is assumed that staying is the same as not going.

(D) The conclusion refers to a possibility that is not explicitly referred to in any of the premises.

(E) Insufficient information is given about the circumstances.
Show more

How to tackle such an abstract CR argument.??
Can anyone help?!!
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But 16 Mar 2020, 08:49
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But she will not go if I stay. So we will both have to go.

What is the flaw in the reasoning above?

In simple terms: I will go if EB does not go. EB will not go if I stay.
Two possibilities here: 1.
I will go and EB stays. (not a problem according to info given.) 2.
I and EB both go

So option 2 may or may not hold true. That is the flaw.
It overlooks other possibility (option 1)
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But 16 Mar 2020, 11:40
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can anyone please explain in detail.... unable to understand how to proceed if face this type of question.
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But 16 May 2021, 19:17
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Bunuel

Competition Mode Question



The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But she will not go if I stay. So we will both have to go.

What is the flaw in the reasoning above?


(A) The first claim, that the situation has gotten worse, is irrelevant.

(B) A possible course of action is overlooked.

(C) It is assumed that staying is the same as not going.

(D) The conclusion refers to a possibility that is not explicitly referred to in any of the premises.

(E) Insufficient information is given about the circumstances.
Show more

The argument has an obvious flaw.
Unless Elizabeth goes I must go.
But she will not go if I stay.
(conclusion) So we will both have to go.

But looking into the argument, we can see that it is possible for author to go and for Elizabeth to stay!
In concluding "So we will both have to go", the author overlooks this possibility.

Option (B) A possible course of action is overlooked is the correct choice.
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The situation has gotten worse. Unless Elizabeth goes I must go. But 14 Nov 2023, 22:20
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