Recently, many critics of the U.S. government have pointed out that th

Question

Recently, many critics of the U.S. government have pointed out that this country is the only industrialized nation without a national vaccine laboratory and suggested that this lack makes the American public more vulnerable than other advanced nations to diseases such as avian flu or other flu epidemics. When asked at a press conference, a government official said these critics were disloyal and thus wrong about the public's vulnerability. To support his claim, he cited the international preeminence of American doctors and hospitals as well as the middle ranking of the United States among United Nation member nations in the health categories of infant mortality, life span, and nutrition. He also added that all of the Europeans that he knew preferred to undergo major medical treatments in the United States rather than in the socialized medical systems in place in their home countries.

All of the following are flaws in the official's logic EXCEPT:.

All of the following are flaws in the official's logic EXCEPT:

A. The official accepts that the quality of physicians and hospitals is a major factor, albeit not the only one, affecting the public's vulnerability to disease.

B.The critics could be disloyal but not wrong.

C. The Europeans that the official cited are overwhelmingly wealthy males over the age of fifty.

D. The official relies on health statistics that are based on a complete accounting of deaths, injuries, and illnesses suffered by the American public from all causes, including the ten percent attributable to infectious diseases.

E. The UN health ranking that the official cited is based on an almost complete survey of the nations of the world.

CrackverbalGMAT · Accepted Answer

Pre-thinking:

Let us consider the arguments presented and the reasoning used for it:

Main conclusion:  "these critics were...wrong about the public's vulnerability" ie; the critics are wrong about the "American public (being) more vulnerable than other advanced nations to diseases such as avian flu or other flu epidemics".

Reasons presented for this conclusion (along with any prima facie flaws):

1) "critics were disloyal and thus wrong". 
 Flaw:  Being disloyal by itself need not imply that one is wrong since disloyalty describes allegiance and not accuracy.

2) "international preeminence of American doctors and hospitals".
 Flaw:  The conclusion is on the topic of vulnerability ie; an  inherent predisposition  of the American public to certain illnesses. Doctors and hospitals affect the post facto diagnosis and treatment of diseases and illnesses, not the inherent predisposition.

3) "the middle ranking of the United States among United Nation member nations in the health categories of infant mortality, life span, and nutrition". 
 Flaw:  The conclusion addresses the comparison of the American public with that of "other advanced nations". It is possible for America to rank in the middle rungs among UN nations (which include most of the nations of the world) and still count among the laggards among developed nations.

4) "all of the Europeans that he knew preferred to undergo major medical treatments in the United States rather than in the socialized medical systems in place in their home countries".
 Flaw:  This could be due to any number of reasons (such as economics, technology etc.) and, as in (2), does not address the  inherent predisposition  of the American public to any illnesses.

We are required to identify that answer option which is  not  a flaw.

A. The official accepts that the quality of physicians and hospitals is a major factor, albeit not the only one, affecting the public's vulnerability to disease.  Correct. While the accuracy of this statement can be debated, it is clearly not among the flaws in the reasoning used by the official.

B.The critics could be disloyal but not wrong.  This is a flaw as demonstrated by (1) above. Eliminate.

C. The Europeans that the official cited are overwhelmingly wealthy males over the age of fifty.  This is a flaw as demonstrated by (4) above. Eliminate.

D. The official relies on health statistics that are based on a complete accounting of deaths, injuries, and illnesses suffered by the American public from all causes, including the ten percent attributable to infectious diseases.  This would be a flaw as the claim that is being opposed by the official only pertains to some specific infectious diseases (as demonstrated by the mention of "vaccine laboratory") and statistics that include deaths and injuries by, for instance, accidents or genetic diseases, would be irrelevant. Eliminate.

E. The UN health ranking that the official cited is based on an almost complete survey of the nations of the world.  This is a flaw as demonstrated by (3) above. Eliminate.

Hope this helps.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The official's conclusion is that people who claim that the U.S. is more vulnerable than other nations because of the country's lack of a national vaccine laboratory are disloyal and incorrect. His basis for that conclusion is that the U.S. has prominent doctors, ranks in the middle in terms of life span, infant mortality, and nutrition, and people from around the world come to the U.S. for medical care. We are asked to find the choice that does NOT point out a flaw in the official's logic.

(A) CORRECT.  This choice states that the official accepts that the quality of physicians and hospitals is a major factor, albeit not the only one, affecting the public's vulnerability to disease. This does not contradict anything in the official's argument, nor does it make light of any flaws in the official's logic.

(B) This choice highlights the official's logical jump from "disloyal" to "wrong" in the phrase "these critics are disloyal and thus wrong about the public's vulnerability." There is no connection between disloyalty and wrongness. This is a flaw.

(C) If the Europeans that the official cited are overwhelmingly wealthy men over the age of fifty, the official relied on an unrepresentative sample to justify his claim. What is true of wealthy older European men is not necessarily true of Europeans or non- Americans generally. This is a flaw.

(D) The fact the official relies on health statistics that are based on a complete accounting of deaths, injuries, and illnesses suffered by the American public from all causes, including the ten percent attributable to infectious diseases means that the official is not limiting his evidence to cases relating to vaccines. Other causes of death are not relevant to the argument. This is a flaw.

(E) If the U.N. health ranking that the official cited is based on an almost complete survey of its members, the ranking of the United States may be misleading, since it may not compare the U.S. to nations of similar economic standing. This is a flaw.

Archit3110 · Answer

conclusion:To support his claim, he cited the international preeminence of American doctors and hospitals as well as the middle ranking of the United States among United Nation member nations in the health categories of infant mortality, life span, and nutrition. He also added that all of the Europeans that he knew preferred to undergo major medical treatments in the United States rather than in the socialized medical systems in place in their home countries.

IMO A; is correct 
The official accepts that the quality of physicians and hospitals is a major factor, albeit not the only one, affecting the public's vulnerability to disease.

hbadger · Answer

Can someone help me understand how we choose  A  over  C  ??

I believe if  C. The Europeans that the official cited are overwhelmingly wealthy males over the age of fifty  weakens the argument then one has to assume that there are other factors in play (being wealthy doesn't really mean that one will choose better healthcare)

Can someone explain how this weakens the argument? In EXCEPT arguments i was under the impression that we have to justify every option as a weakener or a strengthener but this seems unjustified

pearljiandani · Answer

Hi  mamaan

Option C says "The Europeans that the official cited are overwhelmingly wealthy males over the age of fifty."

Thats indeed a very small group and a very specific section of the demographic for the official to base his opinion on and that is why it's not enough justification to support his claim. Whereas option A says that the official agrees that the quality of physicians and hospitals is NOT THE ONLY FACTOR and accepts that there could be other reasons. So this is not a flaw, it's in fact true, there could very well be other reasons for example the absence of a national vaccine laboratory that affect the public's vulnerability to disease. And the official agrees that there could be some other reason, so that is not a flaw in his argument.

Hope it's clear.

Crytiocanalyst · Answer

A. The official accepts that the quality of physicians and hospitals is a major factor, albeit not the only one, affecting the public's vulnerability to disease.
This definitely is a strengthener of the officials statement as he's taking lot of statements into consideration therefore let us hang on to it

B.The critics could be disloyal but not wrong.
The official citing them worng is definitely flawed without premise therefore out

C. The Europeans that the official cited are overwhelmingly wealthy males over the age of fifty.
THis is definitely flaws since wealthy prefers U.S not for the medical amenities but the luxury still a possibility therefore out

D. The official relies on health statistics that are based on a complete accounting of deaths, injuries, and illnesses suffered by the American public from all causes, including the ten percent attributable to infectious diseases.

E. The UN health ranking that the official cited is based on an almost complete survey of the nations of the world
It may be the case however we might know how efficient or flawed the ranking system is , we cannot come into a definitive conclusion therefore out

Therefore IMO A

VerbalBot · Answer

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