QUESTION TEXT: Editorial: It is common to find essays…
QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning
CONCLUSION: Our nation is fine.
REASONING: Writers who say our nation is in trouble are merely showing their own whiny mental state.
ANALYSIS: The editorial is using an ad hominem argument. More than that, it’s a paradox. It’s saying any complaint shows the complainers is wrong. No need to look at the complaint itself.
So, if there was a problem, how could you ever tell someone? The instant you state there is a problem, you’re labelled a defective whiner.
___________
- CORRECT. Indeed. The editorial dismisses the arguments merely from their tone. So it never examines the arguments themselves.
- Which two situations? The only situation being discussed was the state o the country. The only other possible situation was the state of the critics minds. But the author clearly stated they think there is a difference there: sad minds, happy country.
- The stimulus never mentions political or cultural decline. It only mentions decline in general. This answer invents concepts that weren’t in the stimulus.
- This is strange. It means the nation might be “neutral”. Which is consistent with the author’s position. They merely argued that the nation was not in decline. They didn’t actually say “thriving”: that’s only in this answer.
- This is a different flaw. This flaw involves proving your opponents right by arguing badly.
Example of flaw: Some say I am too argumentative. So I’m going to drive over to their house and argue with them until they see I am a reasonable person.
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