PrepTest 142

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
M: People can get all proteins and minerals from vegetarian foods, so not all vegetarian diets cause deficiencies.

T: If everyone went vegetarian, then people working in the meat industry would lose jobs and be unable to afford food. So vegetarianism can cause nutritional deficiencies.

Answer Anticipation:
Whenever a second speaker rebuts the argument of a first speaker, you should start by seeing if the point being rebutted is actually what the first person said in their argument.

Here, Theodora's conclusion is that Marcia is wrong in saying vegetarianism can't cause nutritional deficiencies. However, Marcia never said that—she said a vegetarian diet doesn't have to lead to nutritional deficiencies. Theodora backs up her conclusion by examining the impact of vegetarianism on the meat industry and those who work on it. That's well out of scope of a vegetarian diet.

So Theodora's response is flawed in that it argues against something Marcia never claimed to be true—a version of a straw man argument.

Answer Explanation:
Theodora's argument is directed towards proving that vegetarianism can cause nutritional deficiencies. Marcia claims that a vegetarian diet can't lead to those deficiencies. In responding to an argument Marcia didn't make, Theodora's argument is flawed.

Key Takeaway:
Always check a rebuttal to see if it addresses the same issue as the argument it's rebutting. Frequently, the second speaker will misunderstand or misconstrue the first argument, and addressing a different point makes the rebuttal flawed.

Incorrect. An argument can validly and successfully rebut an opposing viewpoint without attacking the premise(s) of that argument. For example, the rebuttal could focus on additional information or an assumption of the first argument. It's not a flaw to ignore those results!

Incorrect. Theodora's argument concludes that vegetarianism can lead to nutritional deficiencies by driving unemployment in meat-based industries—she doesn't conclude that it's the only potential cause of nutritional deficiencies through this mechanism.

Incorrect. Both speakers use diet to mean the totality of what an individual eats, and they both relate it to nutritional deficiencies, so it seems as if they both use it in some type of medical sense. Or, if they don't, neither does. Either way, this answer is wrong.

Incorrect. Theodora assumes that those losing their jobs wouldn't be able to afford enough food to get the nutrition they needed, not that they'd become vegetarians themselves.