PrepTest 127

Incorrect. William does bring up some rather extreme claims, but he does so to discredit a source of Anna's statement. These extreme views are separate views held by Anna's source, not more extreme versions of the claim that she's making.

Incorrect. William doesn't say that Pliny's crazy claims were made in bad faith—he may just have been wrong.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
A: Rainbows appear opposite the sun. Pliny the Elder said so centuries ago.

W: He also made some crazy claims, so he must be wrong.

Answer Anticipation:
William draws a conclusion about the truth of a claim based on completely separate claims made by the same source. He doesn't discuss the physics of rainbows at all, instead discrediting Anna's claim by bringing up questionable but separate claims made by Pliny. In doing so, William focuses on the source of a claim rather than the claim itself—that's an attack on the person flaw.

Answer Explanation:
This answer highlights that William throws out Pliny's claim in one case because he made crazy claims in other cases. That addresses the person making the claims and their history rather than the claims themselves. This answer reflects William's attack on the person behind a claim instead of the claim itself.

Key Takeaway:
When someone states that a claim is wrong based on the person who made it, they're attacking the person. Any rebuttal that calls a conclusion's truth into question needs to address the claim itself, not the person making it. After all, even people who are wrong 99% of the time are right 1% of the time. (Hopefully that's not you on the LSAT!).

Incorrect. William's issue with Pliny's claim isn't that it lacks current verification, but rather that it was one claim made by someone with a questionable track record.

Incorrect. While William does go after some of Pliny the Elder's writings, he doesn't do so based on them being outdated. Rather, he brings up portions of his writing that are clearly false.