PrepTest 137

Incorrect. The Scientist notes that affecting our perception of the world isn't sufficient for a theory to be taken seriously. To use astrology to prove that, astrology must affect our perception of the world and not be taken seriously, so this answer is incorrect.

Incorrect. For astrology to serve as an example of a theory that affects our perception of the world while not being taken seriously, it must be a theory.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Argument Structure

Stimulus Summary:
Theory taken seriously → Affect perception of world
Affect perception of world isn't sufficient to be taken seriously
Example: Astrology

Answer Anticipation:
First, let's understand the question stem here. It's asking us for why the author brings up something in the argument. That's most similar to an Argument Structure question, so even though the answers don't appear to reference premises and conclusion, we're going to use the process for that question type as our guide for approaching this question.

This Scientist does a bit of working through a conditional statement for us! And the logic she uses should be familiar. The conditional sets up something as a necessary condition for being taken seriously ("must"), and then the scientist notes that the necessary condition isn't sufficient—thanks, Scientist, but we already knew that!

From there, we get to the part of the argument the question stem asks about—astrology. The Scientist notes that we can "see" the preceding statement by considering astrology—in other words, astrology is an example of that statement. And that statement was that the necessary condition—affecting our perception of the world—wasn't sufficient to guarantee a theory should be taken seriously. In other words, astrology proves that even if something affects our perception of the world, that doesn't mean we should take it seriously.

So astrology is an example of a theory that affects our perception of the world but should not be taken seriously.

Answer Explanation:
This answer reflects our anticipation. The Scientist uses astrology as an example of how affecting our perception of the world isn't enough for a theory to be taken seriously. For it to serve as an example of that, astrology must meet that sufficient condition but not the necessary—it must affect our perception of the world but not be taken seriously.

Key Takeaway:
A few takeaways for how examples and counterexamples play into conditional statements.
An example of a conditional statement will have both the sufficient and necessary condition.
A counterexample to a conditional statement will have the sufficient condition but not the necessary.
An example of a statement that something isn't sufficient will have the sufficient but not the necessary (which makes sense, since it's essentially a counterexample to a rule stating that the thing is sufficient).

Incorrect. Astrology is noted as a theory that proves affecting our perception of the world isn't enough for a theory to be taken seriously, and this answer contradicts that by treating it as sufficient ("and thus should be").

Incorrect. The argument concludes that "this" (affecting our perception of the world) isn't sufficient for a theory to be taken seriously. A theory that does not affect our perception of the world wouldn't prove anything about whether doing so is sufficient for the theory to be taken seriously.