Self-study
Researcher: Conclusion The use of the newest drug in treating this disease should be discontinued. ███ █████████ ███████ ██████ █████ ████ ███ ██████ ███████████ ██ ███ █████ █████ ███████ ██████ ████ ███████ ████ ██ █████ ████ ██ █████ ████████████ ███████ ███ ███████ ████ ██ ███ ███████
Summarize Argument
The researcher concludes that the new drug should be discontinued because it disrupts the body's normal functions and causes severe side effects.
Identify and Describe Flaw
The researcher concludes that the drug should be discontinued because of its many costs, like nausea and hair loss. However, she fails to consider the benefits of the drug or the costs of discontinuing it. For example, if the drug is the only way to save lives, then its benefits may far outweigh its costs.
7.
The argument's reasoning is flawed ███████ ███ ████████
a
fails to specify ████ ██ █████ ██ ███████ ███████████ ██ ███ █████ █████
The researcher doesn't define “normal functioning,” but she doesn’t need to. Even if she did define it, it wouldn’t support her argument because she still fails to consider any benefits of the drug that might outweigh the cost of disrupting “normal functioning.”
b
fails to consider ███ ████████████ ██ ███ █████████████ ███ █████████
The researcher argues that the drug should be discontinued because of its many costs, but she ignores its potential benefits. That is, she fails to consider the costs of not taking the drug, which might be much more severe than nausea, hair loss, and joint pain.
c
presumes that every ███████ ████ ███ ███████ ██ ███████ ████ ███ ████
The researcher never makes this assumption. She just argues that those patients who are treated with the drug usually experience severe side effects.
d
does not consider ███ ██████ ██ ████ ██████ ███ ███ █████████ ██ █████ ██████ ██████
The researcher doesn't mention how long it takes for the drug to work, but even if she did, it wouldn’t support her argument because it wouldn’t address the question of whether there are benefits of the drug that outweigh its costs.
e
does not acknowledge ████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ █████████ ███ ███ ██ ██ ███ ████ ████████ ██ ███ █████
The researcher actually does acknowledge this by saying that the drug “usually wreaks havoc” on patients’ bodies. Whether some patients’ side effects are less severe doesn’t affect the argument that the drug usually causes severe side effects and thus must be discontinued.