Of all the Arabic epic poems that have been popular at various times,

Question

Of all the Arabic epic poems that have been popular at various times, only Sirat Bani Hilal is still publicly performed. Furthermore, while most other epics were only recited, Sirat Bani Hilal has usually been sung. The musical character of the performance, therefore, is the main reason for its longevity.

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A) relies on evidence that is in principle impossible to corroborate
(B) relies on a source of evidence that may be biased
(C) takes for granted that a particular correlation is causal
(D) takes what may be mere popular opinion to be an established fact
(E) takes a sufficient condition to be a necessary condition

richirish · Answer

Co-relation is NOT causation, good rule to remember during the GMAT and life in general.

PrinceVegeta · Answer

I eliminated option D for the below reason.

Since what is given in the argument must be considered as a fact or true that cannot be considered as optinion

I could not eliminate answer choice E please explain  nightblade354 
 Given that since it's(The musical character of the performance) the only condition to come to that conclusion, it weakens the conclusion.!

nightblade354 · Answer

(E) is exclusive to the LSAT. A sufficient vs. necessary condition mix up is where you have this: X --> Y as a premise, therefore: Y --> X OR  X   -->  Y . Neither of the last two example are legitimate uses of logic.

In logic, you can only go one direction: X --> Y, therefore  Y   -->  X . Anything beyond these two are not supported by the argument. For example: All kittens are cats (X --> Y), therefore if you are not a cat, you are not a kitten ( Y   -->  X ). If, however, you put all cats are kittens, reversing the above, this is a mix up of sufficient vs necessary and is wrong.

Pranithare · Answer

Can someone please explain ,I do not see any taking for granted situation in correlation .

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Prethinking:

The argument states two facts:

i) Only Sirat Bani Hilal is still publicly performed.
ii) While most other epics were only recited, Sirat Bani Hilal has usually been sung.

Based on these facts, it draws the conclusion that (ii) is the reason for (i). Clearly, an assumption on the causation of (i) by (ii) is being drawn, since there is no other information that is provided that hints at (ii)  causing  (i).

Let us examine the answer options:

(A) relies on evidence that is in principle impossible to corroborate  Both stated facts may be corroborated by evidence. Eliminate.

(B) relies on a source of evidence that may be biased  The stimulus does not tell us anything about the source of the evidence. Eliminate.

(C) takes for granted that a particular correlation is causal  Correct - the causation of (i) by (ii) is being assumed/taken for granted.

(D) takes what may be mere popular opinion to be an established fact  The stimulus does not state or imply that the causation of (i) by (ii) is popular opinion. Eliminate.

(E) takes a sufficient condition to be a necessary condition  Neither of the stated facts is a sufficient condition for the conclusion. Eliminate.

Hope this helps.

shanky315 · Answer

IMO out of all arabic poems SBH is the most popular, and out of all SBH is sung. This doesn't mean that the thing which is popular will always be preferred, may be SBH ( out of all arabic poems) is easy to sing. So this is a pure correlation. Hence, option D.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks

Posted from my mobile device

VerbalBot · Answer

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Of all the Arabic epic poems that have been popular at various times,

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