Self-study
Yang: Yeast has long been known to be a leaven, that is, a substance used in baking to make breads rise. █████ ████████ ████████ ████ ███ ███ ██ ███████ ██ ██████ ██████ ████ ██ ████ █████ ██ ███ █████ ████ █████ ███ ███████ █████ ██ ██ █ ██████ ██ ████ █████
████████ █ ████ ████ █████████ █████████████ ███████ ███████ █████ ████ █████ █████ ████ ████ █████ ██ ████ ████
Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
Campisi concludes that Yang is not justified in inferring that yeast was known as a leaven in 1200 B.C. just because leavens were known at that time. Why? Because, according to Campisi, other leavens than yeast could have been known in 1200 B.C.
Describe Method of Reasoning
Campisi undermines Yang’s conclusion by introducing an alternative explanation to account for Yang’s evidence. The evidence only shows that some unspecified leaven was used in 1200 B.C., so by pointing out the possibility that other leavens than yeast could have been known at that time, Campisi offers an alternative explanation.
12.
Campisi counters Yang's argument by
a
suggesting that an ███████████ ███ ██ ████████ ██████ ████████ ██████ ██████████
Campisi isn’t trying to support Yang’s conclusion, but rather to undermine it. Also, Campisi never proposes alternative evidence.
b
questioning the truth ██ █ ███████████ ██████████ ██████ ████████
Yang presumes that there are no alternative leavens other than yeast that could have been known in 1200 B.C. By introducing other leavens as an alternative explanation for Yang’s evidence, Campisi questions that presumption.
c
denying the truth ██ ██████ ██████████ ███████ ███████████ ███ ██████ █████ ███ ████ ██████████
Campisi does consider the evidence behind Yang’s conclusion, and rejects its support for Yang’s conclusion on the grounds that there are alternative explanations available. Also, Campisi never denies the truth of Yang’s conclusion—unsupported doesn’t mean false.
d
pointing out that ███ ████████ ██ ██████ ████████ ████ ████████ ███████ █ ████████ ██████████
Campisi does not argue that another specific conclusion is supported by Yang’s premises, only that Yang’s conclusion is not convincing based on its premises.
e
calling into question ███ █████ ██ ███ ████████ █████████ ██ ██████ ████████
Campisi does not question the evidence that a leaven was known in 1200 B.C., only offers alternative possible explanations for that evidence in order to question Yang’s conclusion.