Self-study
Columnist: Support Consent forms filled out by subjects prior to their participation in tests of experimental medicines designed to treat the diseases from which they are suffering show that almost all subjects accept the risk of receiving ineffective substances. ████ █████ █████ ██ ███ █████ ████ ██ ████ ███████ █████████ ████ ████ ████ ████████ ██████ █████ █████ ████████ ███ ███████ ██ ███████ ████ ██ ███ ████ █████████ ██ ██████ █████ █████ █████████ ████ ████ ███ ██ ██ ███████████ ███ ████ █████ ████████
Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The columnist concludes by questioning the claim from medical ethicists that many test subjects resent being given placebos or ineffective substances. As support, the columnist cites the consent forms filled out by subjects prior to tests, which show that almost all subjects accept the risk of being given ineffective substances.
Identify and Describe Flaw
Accepting the risk of a certain result is not the same thing as being okay with that result (or not resenting that result). It could be the case that subjects consent to the risk of being given an ineffective substance, even though they would resent that result, and they just hope that the result that they would resent doesn’t come to pass.
25.
The reasoning in the columnist's ████████ ██ ████ ██████████ ██ █████████ ██ ███ ███████ ████ ███ ████████
a
infers that two █████████ ███ ██████████ ██████ ████ ███ █████ ████ █████ ███ ████ █████████ ██ █████ ████ █████████ ███ ███████
This is descriptively inaccurate. The argument does not claim that two phenomena are associated, and the argument does not cite many instances in which two phenomena are both present.
b
uses as evidence ███ ████████ ██ ██████ ███ ███ ████████ ██ ██ █████████ ██ ████ ████████ █████████ █████ ███ ██████████ █████ ██ ████████
This is descriptively inaccurate. The argument does not discuss the scientific value of placebos. Additionally, the argument does not make an inappropriate appeal to expertise.
c
uses evidence drawn ████ █ ██████ ████ ██ ██████ ██ ██ ████████████████
This is descriptively inaccurate. We are given no reason to believe that a biased sample is used as the basis of the argument. The premise and the conclusion are about the same group (test subjects in medical trials).
d
takes for granted ████ ████ ████ ████████ ██ ███ ██████ █████ █████████ ██████ ███ ██████ ██ ██████ ███████████ ██████████ ████ ███ ██████████ ████ ████ ████ ███ ██ ██ ███████████
This is the flaw. The argument ignores the possibility that people may accept the risk, but would become resentful upon learning that they were given an ineffective substance.
e
draws a conclusion ████ ██ ███████████ █████ █ █████ █████ ██ █████████ ██ ████████ ████ ██ ██████ ███████
This is descriptively inaccurate. The conclusion is not about a moral issue; the columnist’s conclusion just questions the claim of medical ethicists that test subjects may be resentful in certain scenarios.