Logical reasoning PrepTest 119 · Section 2 · Question 14

Question prompt

Roger Bacon, the thirteenth–century Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Errors in Reasoning Questions

Stimulus Summary

Roger Bacon was a hypocrite, so we should disregard his theories.

Answer Anticipation

The stimulus has a lot of background on Roger Bacon and his teaching methods, but the argument itself is more or less limited to that last line. There, the “contradiction” between Bacon’s actions and words - his hypocrisy - is used to justify throwing out his work.
But Bacon’s hypocrisy has nothing to do with his work - and even if it did, hypocrites can still be correct. This answer attacks the person instead of the beliefs, so we should look for an answer reflecting that.

Answer choices

  1. A
    presumes, without providing justification, Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    The author doesn’t conclude that Bacon’s work should be thrown out because they often appeal to authority that could be wrong - she concludes his work should be thrown out because such an appeal reveals hypocrisy on his part.
  2. B
    attacks Bacon's uncritical reliance Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Similar to (A), it attacks his hypocrisy on relying on these opinions while telling others not to - it doesn’t attack the reliance on authorities itself.
  3. C
    uses Bacon's remarks to Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    It actually doesn’t matter to the argument what Bacon’s true beliefs were - it only matters that he behaved in a hypocritical manner. What he said is relevant, not whether he believed it.
  4. D
    ignores the fact that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This “fact” that the argument “ignores” actually aligns with the conclusion, so this answer is incorrect.
  5. E
    criticizes Bacon's character in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem
    In calling Bacon a hypocrite (someone with a “contradiction between his statements and...behavior”), the author attacks his character, ignoring his scientific findings. That’s a flawed way of dismissing those findings!

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 7%
  2. B 7%
  3. C 8%
  4. D 1%
  5. E Credited 77%

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