PrepTest 150

Incorrect. The word "interest" is used twice, but there's no indication that the meaning has shifted. In both cases, it appears to mean that they're intellectually curious to hear about the topic.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
The students who go to a philosophy professor's lectures love philosophy, so therefore most students must have an interest in philosophy.

Answer Anticipation:
The philosopher is using her personal experience to extrapolate to all students. That's a sampling flaw if we've ever heard one! Of course the students who go to a philosophy lecture love philosophy, just like people who go to a jazz concert love jazz. Why would someone go to one of those events without already having an interest in them? The sample here is likely to be unrepresentative, and the correct answer will likely reflect that.

Answer Explanation:
This answer is correct, reflecting the sampling flaw. There is reason to believe that this group is more interested in philosophy than the general population of students—they went to a lecture on philosophy.

Key Takeaway:
Whenever an argument generalizes from a subset to a whole group, be sure that there is no reason to believe the subset is unrepresentative of the group. If the subset has made a choice, such as to attend an event, then they're no longer necessarily representative.

Correct. The argument is about student interest, not the worth of the subject, so this answer doesn't reflect the argument.

Incorrect. First, the argument is about whether there is interest in a subject, not whether the interest is increasing. Second, the philosopher does present some evidence that there is interest—the lecture attendance. It may not be conclusive evidence, but it's evidence, nonetheless. This answer reflects an absence of evidence flaw.

Incorrect. There's no mention in the argument of whether any interest is good or bad, just whether it exists.