CARS Assumptions and Underlying Premises 3

Question 1

An author argues that all art should provoke discomfort in viewers because discomfort leads to growth. Which of the following, if assumed false, most severely damages this argument?

Accepted Answer

Discomfort reliably produces meaningful personal or intellectual growth in viewers

Answer

If discomfort does not reliably produce growth, the key causal premise collapses and the argument's conclusion loses its only logical support.

Question 2

Which question best helps identify a hidden assumption in an argument?

Accepted Answer

What must be true for the evidence to logically support the conclusion?

Answer

Identifying assumptions requires asking what unstated premise must be accepted for the argument's logic to hold, revealing the hidden gap between stated evidence and the drawn conclusion.

Question 3

A scientist writes that a new drug is safe for human use because it produced no adverse effects in mice. Which assumption most critically supports this conclusion?

Accepted Answer

Physiological responses observed in mice are sufficiently predictive of responses in humans

Answer

The argument requires assuming the mouse model is a valid proxy for human biology—without this, mouse results cannot license conclusions about human safety.

Question 4

An author distinguishes between assumptions an argument needs and assumptions an argument makes but does not need. Why is this distinction important in CARS?

Accepted Answer

Only necessary assumptions, when negated, destroy the argument; unnecessary assumptions merely adjust its strength

Answer

Necessary assumptions are logical requirements whose negation dismantles the argument, while unnecessary ones are supplementary and their negation leaves the core reasoning intact.

Question 5

A humanities scholar argues that understanding historical context is essential for correctly interpreting literature. What definitional assumption underlies this view?

Accepted Answer

'Correct interpretation' means alignment with the author's intended meaning, which is shaped by historical context

Answer

The scholar implicitly defines correct interpretation as historically grounded authorial intent, which is a definitional assumption about what 'correct' means in literary analysis.

(CARS) Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Practice Test

(CARS) Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills Practice Test

CARS Assumptions and Underlying Premises 3