CARS Assumptions and Underlying Premises 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An author argues that economic growth always benefits society as a whole. What value assumption underlies this claim?
- Economic metrics such as GDP are the most meaningful indicators of societal well-being (Correct answer)
- All members of society benefit equally from any economic expansion
- Governments are the primary drivers of economic growth
- Social programs are inherently less effective than market-based solutions
Correct 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.
Question 2: 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?
- A longer life generally corresponds to or enables a better quality of life (Correct answer)
- All medical advancements are equally effective across all populations
- Quality of life is determined purely by lifespan rather than by health conditions
- Medical technology has eliminated all age-related diseases
Correct 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.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes a 'scope assumption' in an argument?
- An unstated belief about how broadly or narrowly a generalization applies (Correct answer)
- An assumption about the chronological order in which events occurred
- A premise regarding the reliability of a particular source of evidence
- An implicit claim about the motives of individuals cited in the argument
Correct 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.
Question 4: 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?
- The correlation between video game use and aggression reflects a directional causal relationship rather than reverse causation or a third variable (Correct answer)
- All children who play video games inevitably become aggressive adults
- Aggression is always harmful and never serves an adaptive function
- Video game content is uniformly violent regardless of game genre or rating
Correct 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.
Question 5: In circular reasoning, the main logical problem is that the argument:
- Uses the conclusion as one of its own premises, providing no independent support for the claim (Correct answer)
- Relies on an emotional appeal rather than objective logical evidence
- Contains premises that directly contradict each other and cannot both be true
- Makes a claim that is impossible to evaluate or test through any means
Correct 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.
Question 6: An author assumes that readers share the view that individual freedom is a paramount value. This is best described as a:
- Value assumption about shared ethical or ideological commitments (Correct answer)
- Factual assumption about the documented beliefs of the intended audience
- Logical assumption about the formal structure of the argument
- Definitional assumption about the meaning of a contested key term
Correct 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.
Question 7: 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?
- City A and City B are sufficiently similar in the relevant respects that the policy's effectiveness would transfer (Correct answer)
- City B has already tried every alternative policy and failed at each one
- City A and City B are identical in every measurable demographic characteristic
- Policy effectiveness never depends on local context, history, or conditions
Correct 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.
CARS Assumptions and Underlying Premises 2
An author argues that economic growth always benefits society as a whole.
What value assumption underlies this claim?