ARC AC's -- Causal Arguments

yminelik

I seem to be confused on which questions types to expect Alternative-Reversal-Coincidence answer choices when dealing with a causal argument. Is this exclusive to Strengthen-Weaken questions? Thanks in advance for any help on this.

KevinLuminateLSAT

@yminelik It's not exclusive to Strengthen/Weaken - they also commonly appear in Flaw questions and Necessary Assumption questions when the underlying flaw in the argument is assuming causation from a correlation.

As a general matter, if you're focused on associating particular kinds of answers with particular question types, I don't think that's the most useful way to approach logical reasoning. Rather, try to associate particular concepts with particular argument structures or logical issues. In this case, alternate cause, reverse cause, or coincidence introduce potential alternate explanations for a correlation/observation. But many different question types can have a stimulus that involves correlation/observation.

For example, let's say the argument is "A is correlated with B. Therefore A causes B." If this were a necessary assumption question, the correct answer could be "B does not cause A." (This would also be a correct answer if it were a Strengthen question.)

If it were a flaw question, the correct answer could be "Overlooks the possibility that B causes A." (This point would also be a correct answer if it were a Weaken question.)

We could have a similar stimulus in a Resolve/Explain question:

"A is strongly correlated with B, and it is highly unlikely that there is any third factor that could be causing both A and B. Yet, scientists are confident that A is not a cause of B."

The question might ask us to resolve the discrepancy or explain why scientists are so confident that A doesn't cause B. And the correct answer could be "B is known to cause A."