A censorship organization that focuses on the protection of children

Question

A censorship organization that focuses on the protection of children from explicit content is appealing to ban comic books that contain the portrayal of extreme violence. However, comics represent a legitimate channel of communication, used by thousands of illustrators and authors as a platform for their talent and expression. Therefore, banning certain comic books will just lead to the banning of other forms of literature until books become unlawful altogether.

A major flaw in the argument above is that

A major flaw in the argument above is that

A. it forms a prediction based upon a suggested cause-and-effect relationship

B. it diminishes the significance of the viewpoint that it opposes

C. it determines the outcome of a certain action that has yet to be performed

D. it completely ignores the reasons lying behind the appeal that it is objecting

E. it claims the inevitability of one event to follow another without sufficient evidence to do so

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agrasan · Answer

Banning certain comic books --> Banning of other forms of literature until books become unlawful altogether

It seems like the author assumed that books (X) are the  only way  to get other forms of literature (Y) so if we ban books (not X), then other forms of literature will also be banned (not Y).

A. it forms a prediction based upon a suggested cause-and-effect relationship  
 Not a flaw , the argument indeeds makes a conclusion based on a cause-effect relationship so it is not a flaw.

B. it diminishes the significance of the viewpoint that it opposes  
 Not a flaw , this is not a flaw.

C. it determines the outcome of a certain action that has yet to be performed  
 Not a flaw , so what? This option doesn't highlight any flaw to reach the conclusion.

D. it completely ignores the reasons lying behind the appeal that it is objecting  
 Not a flaw , absence of reasons behind the appeal is not a flaw.

E. it claims the inevitability of one event to follow another without sufficient evidence to do so  
 Flaw , the author concludes that the ban of books will lead to banning of other forms of literature but we don't know whether books are the  only  source, thus, we don't have enough evidence. Overall, we can say that the author confused a  sufficient  condition with a  necessary  condition.

(E)  is the answer

ManifestDreamMBA · Answer

The conclusion brought in books with no justification assuming they have similar effects as comics. Only E justifies that by saying it claims the inevitability of one event (banning books) to follow another (banning comics) without sufficient evidence to do so

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

A censorship organization that focuses on the protection of children from explicit content is appealing to ban comic books that contain the portrayal of extreme violence. However, comics represent a legitimate channel of communication, used by thousands of illustrators and authors as a platform for their talent and expression. Therefore, banning certain comic books will just lead to the banning of other forms of literature until books become unlawful altogether.

A major flaw in the argument above is that

A major flaw in the argument above is that

A. it forms a prediction based upon a suggested cause-and-effect relationship

Incorrect.

This is an Argument Flaw question. You are required to locate the inherent flaw in the argument's conclusion or its underlying assumption. In this argument, sentences 1 and 2 are premises, citing facts. The last sentence begins with the conclusion conjunction Therefore so it's the conclusion:

Premise A: an organization is interested in banning comic books that contain violence
 +
Premise B: comics are a source of self-expression
 ≠
Conclusion: banning comic books will lead to the banning of all books

This answer choice presents quite a logical thing to do. If John predicts that the cat will run away when the dog begins to chase it, we cannot say that his prediction is flawed. Therefore, predicting something based on a cause-and-effect relationship is not a mistake in any argument so long as it is well-founded.

B. it diminishes the significance of the viewpoint that it opposes

Incorrect.

By presenting information that strengthens one side of the argument, the author automatically weakens the other side. This is perfectly acceptable behavior for an author who wishes to support a certain viewpoint on a topic. Therefore, doing so cannot be considered a major flaw.

C. it determines the outcome of a certain action that has yet to be performed

Incorrect.

Making a prediction, as described in this answer choice, cannot be considered a logical flaw. For example, we cannot attack John's argument if he predicts that ripples will appear on the lake's surface when he throws a stone into it, even if this prediction is made before he threw the stone.

D. it completely ignores the reasons lying behind the appeal that it is objecting

Incorrect.

Because the author is presenting an objection to banning comic books, it is not required that the argument addresses the reasons behind the ban. The author may present other reasons, for which the ban should be canceled, such as the results of the ban, without attacking the reasons behind the ban specifically.

E. it claims the inevitability of one event to follow another without sufficient evidence to do so

For an argument to contain a prediction or to present a cause-and-effect relationship is perfectly acceptable. However, stating that one thing will lead to another is not enough. The author must provide a decent amount of evidence to support any predictions made. In this case, there is nothing to support the claim that a comic book ban will expand to a total book ban.

A censorship organization that focuses on the protection of children

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A censorship organization that focuses on the protection of children

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