Logical reasoning PrepTest 111 · Section 4 · Question 7

Incorrect. The argument reasons that a violent person committed this crime, not that someone who committed the crime is therefore a violent person. This answer is a bit of a reversal of the stimulus.

Incorrect. The stimulus doesn't bring up any of Smith's testimony (just what he didn't address), so this answer is out of scope.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Attorney: You should find Mr. Smith guilty because:
(1) He's violent
(2) The victim claims he threatened her loudly
(3) He didn't rebut that claim

Answer Anticipation:
The Attorney establishes a claim made by Ms. Lopez in her testimony, and whenever an argument relies on what someone says (or thinks, or believes), there's always the chance that they're lying (or wrong). Here, the only evidence provided that Mr. Smith did loudly threaten Ms. Lopez other than her testimony is his failure to refute this testimony.

But failure to disprove a claim doesn't provide evidence in favor of that claim—that's an absence of evidence flaw! Just because Mr. Smith didn't refute Ms. Lopez's claims that he loudly threatened her doesn't mean that he did or that he's admitting to it. Let's find an answer describing this absence of evidence flaw.

Answer Explanation:
The argument relies on the lack of a rebuttal to accept Ms. Lopez's claims. However, that's an absence of evidence flaw—the only reason her claims are accepted is because they weren't shown to be false. This answer reflects the error in reasoning in the stimulus, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
When an argument relies on a lack of evidence against a claim to support that claim, it's committing an absence of evidence flaw.

Incorrect. The argument doesn't establish any characteristics of Ms. Lopez, so this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. The Attorney believes that the violent Mr. Smith committed this violent crime, so this answer doesn't reflect the argument.