Assumptions and Underlying Premises Flashcards
7 cards from real CARS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Assumptions and Underlying Premises flashcards as text
An author argues that economic growth always benefits society as a whole. What value assumption underlies this claim?
Answer: Economic metrics such as GDP are the most meaningful indicators of societal well-being
The argument assumes that conventional economic metrics correspond to genuine improvements in human welfare, which is an unstated value judgment about what constitutes societal benefit.
A CARS passage claims that modern medicine has extended human lifespan, then concludes that modern medicine has improved quality of life. Which assumption bridges these two claims?
Answer: A longer life generally corresponds to or enables a better quality of life
The author must assume that living longer tends to correlate with living better; without this bridge, the jump from lifespan to quality of life does not follow logically.
Which of the following best describes a 'scope assumption' in an argument?
Answer: An unstated belief about how broadly or narrowly a generalization applies
Scope assumptions define the boundaries to which a claim applies—for example, assuming that a finding from one group extends to all groups.
An author concludes that video games cause aggressive behavior because children who play more video games exhibit more aggression. What causal assumption is being made?
Answer: The correlation between video game use and aggression reflects a directional causal relationship rather than reverse causation or a third variable
The argument assumes the correlation runs causally from games to aggression, ignoring the possibility that aggressive children may simply choose to play more video games.
In circular reasoning, the main logical problem is that the argument:
Answer: Uses the conclusion as one of its own premises, providing no independent support for the claim
Circular reasoning assumes what it sets out to prove, embedding the conclusion within the premises so no genuine logical progress from evidence to conclusion is made.
An author assumes that readers share the view that individual freedom is a paramount value. This is best described as a:
Answer: Value assumption about shared ethical or ideological commitments
A value assumption involves an unstated belief about what is good or important—here, that individual freedom outweighs competing values the reader might hold.
A passage argues that since a new policy worked in City A, it will work in City B. What assumption must be true for this analogical argument to succeed?
Answer: City A and City B are sufficiently similar in the relevant respects that the policy's effectiveness would transfer
Analogical arguments require that the compared cases share the relevant features responsible for the outcome—without this similarity, the analogy breaks down.