#9 - Myrna: People should follow diets in which fat

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Method of Reasoning. The correct answer choice is (B)

Roland argues that a lifetime of sacrifice spent eating unappealing low-fat diet is not worth the small chance of extending that life for 3 months. Myrna responds by pointing out that the problem of high-fat diet does not merely lie in deaths, but also in serious chronic diseases.

Answer choice (A): Even though Myrna does offer facts of her own, she does not dispute the facts cited by Roland. She merely uses a new statistic to suggest an additional consideration.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. Myrna suggests that a person’ longevity is not the only relevant factor in choosing a diet. High-fat diet also leads to many serious chronic diseases, and this should be taken into consideration as well.

Answer choice (C): Again, Myrna has not disputed the accuracy of the statistics cited by Roland.

Answer choice (D): Myrna does not cast doubt on the sources of Roland’s evidence.

Answer choice (E): Myrna does not argue that Roland’s argument is circular. She merely points out an additional relevant consideration that Roland has not addressed.

[andriana.caban]

Answer choice (E): Myrna does not argue that Roland’s argument is circular. She merely points out an additional relevant consideration that Roland has not addressed.

Can you please provide an example of a circular argument and, what it would look like if Myrna had shown that Roland's argument is circular? Thank you!

[Jeremy Press]

Hi Andriana,

Circular reasoning occurs when an author puts something into his or her premises that means the same thing as the conclusion, which is why the description of circular reasoning often says something like, "the argument assumes (i.e. has as a premise) what it sets out to prove (i.e. the conclusion)."

A simple example of a circular argument is: "This essay is the best, because it is better than all the others." Notice that the premise (the essay is better than all others) means the same thing as the conclusion (the essay is the best).

If Myrna were pointing out circular reasoning in Roland's argument, she would have to say something like, "But you've assumed your conclusion, because your key premise means the same thing as your conclusion." Notice Myrna can't really do that here, because there is no circular reasoning in Roland's argument (in fact, you'd have to change Roland's argument entirely if you wanted to make it circular--something he'd no doubt object to very strongly!). Myrna would be seriously distorting Roland's argument if she tried to make the claim that it's circular.

I hope this helps!

Jeremy

[andriana.caban]

So if Roland's argument was circular, would it go along the lines of: "A lifetime of sacrifice eating unappealing food is too high of a price because it is unappealing."

[James Finch]

Hi Andriana,

Yes, that's essentially what a circular argument would look like (although they'd probably use a synonym for "unappealing" to slightly disguise the circular nature of the argument.)

Hope this helps!