Self-study
Restaurant manager: In response to requests from our patrons for vegetarian main dishes, we recently introduced three: an eggplant and zucchini casserole with tomatoes, brown rice with mushrooms, and potatoes baked with cheese. ███ █████ ███ ███ ██████████ ████████ ███ ██ ███ ██████ ███ ██████ █████ ████████ ██ █████ ████ ████ ███ █████ ████ ████████ █████ ███ ███████ ██████ ███ ██ ███ █████████
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The restaurant manager concludes that his restaurant’s patrons prefer not to eat potatoes because after adding a dish of potatoes baked with cheese to the restaurant’s menu, nobody ordered the dish, even though it’s cheaper than the restaurant’s other vegetarian-friendly main dishes.
Identify and Describe Flaw
The restaurant manager reasons that because nobody has been ordering the dish of potatoes baked with cheese, the restaurant’s patrons must not like to eat potatoes. However, an error of reasoning in the argument is that the manager draws a conclusion that’s too specific without adequate evidence.
While the patrons may not be ordering the potato dish because they dislike potatoes, it could also be for other reasons. They may not be ordering the dish because they dislike the cheese in the dish, the name of the dish, or any other number of reasons.
3.
Which one of the following ██ ██ █████ ██ █████████ ██ ███ ██████████ █████████ █████████
a
concluding that two ██████ ████ █████ ██ ███ ████ ████ ████ █ ██████ █████
The restaurant manager doesn’t discuss two things having a common cause. He just makes the case for why people aren’t ordering the potato dish.
b
drawing a conclusion ████ ██ ████████████ ████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ ████████
The restaurant manager’s conclusion is that the restaurant’s patrons don’t like potatoes, and his premises are that nobody is ordering the potato dish even though patrons are ordering other vegetarian dishes that are more expensive. The premises doesn’t undermine the conclusion.
c
ignoring possible differences ███████ ████ ██████ ███ ████ ████ ███ ████ ████ ████████ ██████
The restaurant manager doesn’t discuss what people say they want. He only discusses how patrons aren’t ordering the potato dish but are ordering the other vegetarian dishes.
d
attempting to prove █ █████ ██ ███ █████ ██ ████████ ████ █ ██████ ██ ██████ ████ ████ █████ ██ ██ ████
The restaurant manager doesn’t say his claim that the restaurant’s patrons don’t like potatoes is proven by the number of people who hold that claim to be true. He says the claim that the restaurant’s patrons don’t like potatoes is proven by nobody ever ordering the potato dish.
e
treating one of ███████ █████████ ████████████ ██ █ ██████████ ██ ███ ████ ████████ ███████████
This is the error the restaurant manager commits. Because people aren’t ordering the potato dish, the restaurant manager jumps to the explanation that the patrons don’t like potatoes. However, people not ordering the potato dish could have several other possible explanations.