University:
University of Pittsburgh
Course:
LSAT | Prep Course
Academic year:

2023
Views:

257

Pages:

2
Author:

mns81

LSAT PREP Sage Training – Week 5 Assumptions and Weakening Questions Assumptions:  What are they? o Premises that the author left out of the argument. Example:  The state of Qari is hostile to our national interests. The state of Qari harbors many rare and desired natural resources. Therefore, we should invade and occupy the state of Qari. o Assumptions:  What are statements that would support the conclusion that the author left out?  Invaders of a country often gain access to the country’s natural resources. o We are assuming this.  Some assumptions are logically sufficient, some are necessary, and some are neither. Good Vs. Bad Arguments:     When we say that an argument is good we mean: o Describes how well the premises support the conclusion. o Strength of the support of the relationship between the premises and the conclusion. o Few reasonable assumptions are a good argument. Bad arguments mean some assumptions are questionable. o Terrible arguments mean lots of unreasonable assumptions. You will make many and highly uncertain assumptions. Premises weakly support their conclusion. Assumptions are Subtle:   Subtle things are hard to notice. Supposed to be sensitive to assumptions, they determine whether arguments are good or bad. Weaken Questions: General Approach:    Identify the question stem. Read the stimulus. It is an argument. o Yes – identify the conclusion, premises, and context. o No – piece together the information.     Evaluate the argument for assumptions made. Anticipate the answer choice. Scan through answer choices and eliminate as many as you can. Decide between remaining answers. Weaken Arguments:       To do this it’s hard to understand, its abstract and subtle. To weaken an argument, you must take away the support that premises give to the conclusion. Find answer that stripes the existing premises of its supportive power. The correct answer choice shows despite premises being true it is now way less supportive of the conclusion being true. You are weakening the argument. You make the premises less supportive of the conclusion. Example Question Stems:   Which one of the following statements if true, most weakens the argument? Which one of the following if true most weakens the argument?

Assumptions and Weaken Arguments

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