Dana intentionally watered the plant every other day. But since the pl

Question

Dana intentionally watered the plant every other day. But since the plant was a succulent, and needed dry soil, the frequent watering killed the plant. Therefore Dana intentionally killed the plant.

Which one of the following arguments exhibits a flawed pattern of reasoning most similar to the flawed pattern of reasoning exhibited in the argument above?

(A) Jack stole $10 from Kelly and bet it on a race. The bet returned $100 to Jack. Therefore Jack really stole $100 from Kelly.

(B) Celeste knows that coffee is grown in the mountains in Peru and that Peru is in South America. Therefore Celeste should know that coffee is grown in South America.

(C) The restaurant owner decided to take an item off her restaurant’s menu. This decision disappointed Jerry because that item was his favorite dish. Therefore the restaurant owner decided to disappoint Jerry.

(D) The heavy rain caused the dam to break, and the breaking of the dam caused the fields downstream to be flooded. Therefore the heavy rain caused the flooding of the fields.

(E) The power plant raised the water temperature, and whatever raised the water temperature is responsible for the decrease in fish. Therefore the power plant is responsible for the decrease in fish.

nahid78 · Accepted Answer

This is a good example of how modifiers can create logical confusion _ in this case, the modifier "intentionally." Dana intentionally watered the plant. Her actions led to the plant’s death. Therefore Dana intentionally killed the plant? This conclusion is unwarranted. (Just for fun, step outside of the LSAT for a moment and consider this argument. Can you imagine wanting to kill a plant, and then deciding to do so by over-watering it over the course of several days or weeks?)

It is plausible, if not likely, that Dana did not know that watering the plant frequently would lead to its death. The insertion of the word "intentionally" in the conclusion is the big error. While it is true that Dana caused the plant to die (killed it), there is insufficient evidence to conclude that she killed it intentionally. When we evaluate the choices, we should look for this false "intention" in the conclusion. (C) demonstrates the same flaw. Yes, the owner took the item off the menu, and yes that decision disappointed Jerry, but did the owner intend to disappoint Jerry?

(A) is incorrect because it does not match the original argument whatsoever. It includes no incorrect assumption of intentionality.
(B) is wrong because it does not match the original argument, and doesn’t even represent a flawed argument. This reasoning is actually quite sound. 
(D) does not represent flawed reasoning. A caused B, B caused C, therefore A caused C.
(E) is like (D). A caused B, and whatever caused B caused C. Therefore A caused C. This reasoning is not flawed.

Abhishek009 · Answer

A good question !! And an equally good Explanation provided by  nahid78

This question can be dealt with if we consider the Dependent / Independent action

The flaw in the stimulus can be easily predicted as shown by  nahid78

Now, once check the answer option and find a similarity ( only (C) will work )

Thus these are the 2 independent action and a causal conclusion is drawn that action 1 was a deliberate action performed for the specific  effect

Hence Correct answer is (C)

abhimahna · Answer

Original argument pattern:

Dana gave water intentionally.

Plant dies because of its succulent nature and dry soil requirements.

So, Dana intentionally killed plants. Non sense. May be she doesn't the requirements of that plant. SO, how can we blame the poor Dana?

Now, we need find out some logic similar to the above one.

(A) Jack stole $10 from Kelly and bet it on a race. The bet returned $100 to Jack. Therefore Jack really stole $100 from Kelly. : Oh. Still he is a thief. How can we say if he si going to return those $10, he is not a thief? But this pattern is not similar to what we want.

(B) Celeste knows that coffee is grown in the mountains in Peru and that Peru is in South America. Therefore Celeste should know that coffee is grown in South America. : Fine, he should know about this. Good Logic not as weird as we are looking for.

(C) The restaurant owner decided to take an item off her restaurant’s menu. This decision disappointed Jerry because that item was his favorite dish. Therefore the restaurant owner decided to disappoint Jerry. Oh, Mr Jerry is a customer. May be the owner doesn't know Mr Jerry. So, how can we say he did so just to disappoint Mr Jerry. Non sense. Matches with what we want. Hence, correct.

(D) The heavy rain caused the dam to break, and the breaking of the dam caused the fields downstream to be flooded. Therefore the heavy rain caused the flooding of the fields. Yes, A caused B. B caused C, Therefore, A caused C. Transitive property. Maths experts would know what I am talking about.

(E) The power plant raised the water temperature, and whatever raised the water temperature is responsible for the decrease in fish. Therefore the power plant is responsible for the decrease in fish. Same as D

VerbalBot · Answer

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Dana intentionally watered the plant every other day. But since the pl

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Dana intentionally watered the plant every other day. But since the pl

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