lsat-18-4-14

ztlbox

14. Common patterns of fallacious reasoning are endemic to everyday life and once adopted cannot be corrected. Poor reasoning skills waste public and private money, make people less efficient and productive, and diminish our national capacity to compete abroad. But within the past few years, a "thinking skills" movement has arisen. The teaching of reasoning skills is part of this larger movement to make students think more critically. Increasingly, as part of the teaching of decision-making, college students are successfully learning to avoid common patterns of fallacious reasoning that they habitually commit, and, in the process, to acquire sound reasoning skills.

Which one of the following identifies the most serious logical flaw that this passage contains?

(A) The passage fails to establish a connection between the teaching of decision-making and the teaching of reasoning skills.

(B) The passage contradicts itself by both affirming and denying that patterns of fallacious reasoning can be corrected.

(C) The passage uses circular reasoning by first stating that patterns of fallacious reasoning diminish our capacious reasoning diminish our capacity for competition and then asserting that lack of competition leads to a lessening of skills.

(D) The passage makes an unwarranted inference from improving thinking skills to teaching reasoning skills.

(E) The passage fails to link the teaching of decision-making to the larger movement to make students think more critically.

the answer is B,why. i prefer A.

thank you

leeon

文中先说patterns of fallacious reasoning cannot be corrected.后来又说teaching of decision-making can  make students avoid common patterns of fallacious reasoning 。所以答案当然是B了。

Bensontuo

ztlbox 发表于 2004-8-25 06:47
14. Common patterns of fallacious reasoning are endemic to everyday life and once adopted cannot be  ...

Spot the question type: Method of the reasoning ( Locating the flaw within the argument )

P1: Common patterns of fallacious reasoning are endemic to everyday life and if adopted, it can't be corrected.

P2: Poor reasoning skills, waste public and private money, make people less efficient and less productive, and diminish the national capacity to compete abroad.

P3: But within the past few years, a thinking skills movement has arisen, and the teaching of reasoning skills is part of this larger movement to make students think more critically.

P4: Increasingly, as part of the teaching of decision-making, college students are successfully learning to avoid common patterns of fallacious reasoning that they habitually commit, and, in the process, to acquire sound reasoning skills.

So... If a fallacious reasoning once be adopted, it must be true that it can't be corrected. How could you have the other " reasoning skill " to correct the original fallacious reasoning patterns ? It apparently contradicts itself.

A. It might be true that it fails to establish the connection; however, it's not the logical flaw the argument commits; instead, it's the " assumption " to connect the 2 different ideas.

B. Totally matching our inference above. Denying it can be corrected first, and then affirming it can be corrected in the end.

C. There is no any circular reasoning.

D. Just as I said, it's the assumption made, but not the flaws it committed.

E. Just as said, it's the assumption made, but not the flaws it committed.

You are not asked to overturn the argument by spotting the presumptions; instead, you are looking for the flaw why argument can't be established.