Self-study
Support The postmodern view involves the rejection of modern assumptions about order and the universality of truth. ███ █████ ████████ ██ ███ ██████ ███ ███ ███ ████ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ██████ ███ ██████████ ████████ ██ █████ ████ ████ ███████████ █████ ███ ██████ ██ █████ ███ █████ ███ ██ █ ██████ ██ ███ ██████████ ██ ████████████ ███ ██████ ██ ███████ ████ ██ ███████ █ █████ ████ ██ █████████ ███████ ███ ██ █████ █████ ███ ██ █████████ ███████
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that there are no universal truths and the world is full of irregular events. She supports this by saying that the postmodern view rejects ideas of order and universal truth, emphasizing instead a belief in chaos and irregularity.
Identify and Describe Flaw
This is the cookie-cutter “fact vs. belief” flaw, where the author incorrectly assumes that because a large group of people believe something to be true, it must be a factual reality. In short, she essentially claims, “Postmodernists believe X. Therefore, X is true.”
On top of this, the author subtly contradicts herself. By claiming that there are no universal truths, the author attempts to make a universally true claim.
19.
The argument's reasoning is questionable ███████ ███ ████████
a
infers that something ██ ███ ████ ███████ ██ ██ ████████ ██ ██ ███ ████
The author infers that the postmodern view is factually the case, simply because it is believed to be the case. But other people’s belief in the view is not evidence that it is actually correct or true.
b
uses the term ███████████ ███████████
This is the cookie-cutter flaw of “equivocation,” where the author uses one term to mean multiple different things. But the other uses “universal” consistently, and (B) doesn’t describe the flaw in her argument.
c
relies on the ███ ██ █████████ █████ ██ ███████ ███ ██████████
The author mistakes belief for fact, but she isn’t relying on emotional terms to strengthen her conclusion or manipulate her audience.
d
uses the term ███████ ███████████
This is the cookie-cutter flaw of “equivocation,” where the author uses one term to mean multiple different things. But the other uses “order” consistently, and (D) doesn’t describe the flaw in her argument.
e
fails to cite ████████ ██ ██████ ████████ ████ ███████ ██ ██████ █████████ ██████
It’s true that the author doesn’t provide examples of modern theories, but this doesn’t weaken her argument, so it can’t be the flaw. Her conclusion is about the postmodern view; she only refers to the modern view contextually.