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Nothri
can someone explain why not b?­ it is similar to the first option
­Certainly!

Let's understand the structure of the argument:

    If choices are not free, there is no democracy.
    If there are no well-reasoned opinions, choices cannot be free. 
    If there are no reading skills, there are no well-reasoned opinions.

In other words: Reading Skills >necessary for> well-reasoned opinions >necessary for> free choices >necessary for> democracy. 

Valid Conclusions:
    1. If there is democracy, there must be a highly literate society (good reading skills). 
    2. If there are no reading skills, there is no democracy.

Conclusion of the Author:
    A highly literate society will be a democratic one.

Flaw:
    The author mistakes a series of necessary conditions for a series of sufficient conditions.

Answer: Choice A

Choice B:  fails to take into account that there are many means of forming well-reasoned opinions
There are two issues with choice B:
    1. It says "there ARE many means of forming well-reasoned opinions". This is not certain. The correct way to phrase this is "there might be other means of forming well-reasoned opinions". We cannot say this for sure. 
    2. Choice B is severely limited in scope. It only points to one link in a chain of statements. The author commits a sequence of unwarranted assumptions, not just one. Choice B, by pointing to just one, suggests that this is the only error in the argument, and nothing more. Choice A is better in terms of scope, as it encapsulates the entire flaw.


Hope this clarifies.
Happy learning! 

-Abhishek ­
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Why not E? takes for granted that a condition under which something occurs is a condition under which all its prerequisites occur

The condition under which Democracy occurs- literacy
It is taken for granted that all other pre-requisites for democracy to occur are fulfilled.

This is not necessary right? Along with literacy, there could be other pre-requisites that may have to be met.

can someone please help?
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Political scientist: Democracy depends on free choices, and choices cannot be free unless they are made on the basis of well-reasoned opinions. In the Information Age, reading skills have become essential to forming well-reasoned opinions. Thus, in the Information Age, a highly literate society will be a democratic one.

The political scientist's reasoning is flawed in that it


The argument shows that democracy requires free choices, free choices require well-reasoned opinions, and well-reasoned opinions require reading skills. So literacy is presented as necessary for democracy in the Information Age. But the conclusion says that a highly literate society will be democratic, treating literacy as sufficient for democracy.

(A) mistakes necessary conditions for sufficient conditions

Correct. The argument shows that literacy is needed for democracy, but then concludes that literacy guarantees democracy. That is the classic necessary versus sufficient condition flaw.

(B) fails to take into account that there are many means of forming well-reasoned opinions

Wrong. The passage says reading skills have become essential to forming well-reasoned opinions. The flaw is not about other possible means.

(C) confuses the means of doing something with the reasons for doing it

Wrong. The argument does not confuse methods with motives.

(D) generalizes too hastily from one type of case to another

Wrong. The flaw is conditional logic, not hasty generalization.

(E) takes for granted that a condition under which something occurs is a condition under which all its prerequisites occur

Wrong. The argument does not say that if democracy occurs, all prerequisites occur. That would actually be reasonable. The problem is that it reverses the relationship and treats one prerequisite as enough.

Answer: (A)
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