Question #1569

Please help with the reverse of most.

Started by Mazen · started 2020-04-01 05:53 · last activity 2020-04-08 05:35 · 2 replies

Hello, I did my due diligence and read the thread and the review, and I understand that "most" is stronger than "some," and why that is. However, per the lecture, "most" statements, though do no have contrapositives or negations, are reversible; though, we have to replace "most" with "some." So, with that in mind let C states "Most environmentalists appeal to economic reasons in questioning the defensibility of exploiting features of the environment." In retrospect, C can be diagrammed as EAER--most--QPEE EAER: environmentalists appeal to economic reasons and QPEE: questioning the defensibility/prudence of exploiting features of the environment. We are allowed to reverse "most" statements, in which case: QPEE--some-- EAER, which is the first quantifying statement. Should I not reverse the "most" of an answer choice to see if it matches an inference or a quantifying principle. I assume that we could, because, unless the answer choice is to parallel most closely, we do infer the contrapositives of a sufficient-necessary principles. I know that quantifying statements do not have contrapositives, and I agree and understand why that is. however, my question is if I reverse the "most" into "some," I have a match, only it is one step further than answer choice "B." I did by the way chose "B" because it requires no work, whereas "C" as is without the reversal does not quite fit. But am to eliminate an answer right away when faced with similar situation, or should I hold it and invest the time in going over the rest of the answer choices? Please help thank you

Replies

  1. SamA · 2020-04-07 19:23

    Hello @Mazen, I think I understand the problem you are having here. You stated that quantifying statements do not have a contrapositive, which is absolutely right. This is a trap that many people fall into. However, you are still treating this like a sufficient and necessary problem. I'll explain. A conditional statement and its contrapositive carry the exact same logic, and they are interchangeable. However, this does not apply to reversal of quantifier statements. Yet, you treated answer choice C and its reversal as if they are interchangeable. But they do not mean the same thing! C concludes that EAER --- most --- QPEE You then reversed it: QPEE --- some --- EAER This may be true, but it is not what C concludes. The conclusion is the most statement! They do not have the same meaning, so you can't just reverse it and test the reversal. C is incorrect, because we do not have the information to conclude "most" of anything. The stimulus only has "somes." To your last question, I would look at all of the answer choices, but I wouldn't invest a lot of time if you are confident in B. Once I am confident in an answer choice, I will take a brief glance at the rest of the options.

  2. Mazen · 2020-04-08 05:35

    Understood!! Thank You Sam

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