LR assumption question (two possible answers) Forum

[jmjm]

The following LR question (Doctors in Britain.., depression, tinted glasses) seems to have two assumption answers A and E. Answer choice A also seems an assumption (besides E) in a early portion of the argument -- the portion where the author generalizes the doctors' observations from patients to the general public.

The conclusion states that all_types_of_depression -- > tinted glasses (that is, depression is the cause that causes the effect of wearing tinted glasses). However, the author is basing this conclusion only on the observations of patients, a limited sample. Also, the concluding statement is general for all possible depressions. Therefore, he made an assumption that what is observed for patients is also true for the general public (answer choice A encapsulates this assumption by stipulating that since depression is not caused by organic condition, the results of observations of patients can be applied to the general public).

Isn't this a question where there are two correct answers and A is one of them?

[VasaVasori]

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[Nova]

Here is another explanation for PT18 S4 #22, http://www.manhattanlsat.com/forums/q22 ... t4533.html

[jmjm]

First of all, you may want to take the question down - that will get you banned.

The argument doesn't say that all cases of depression are caused by wearing tinted eyeglasses, but that when people wear tinted eyeglasses they do so because they're depressed. Indeed, an organic condition could cause the depression, and the depression could cause the person to wear tinted eyeglasses.

Therefore, A is not an assumption of the argument, because A can be false and the argument remains uneffected.

Another thing to note: check your diagram of the conclusion.

The conclusion doesn't say that ALL DEPRESSION -> WEAR GLASSES. It says, WEAR GLASSES -> DEPRESSION. I think you were trying to diagram the causal interaction the conclusion mentions. But that would be...
SOMETIMES - DEPRESSION -> WEAR GLASSES. No where does the conclusion say that every person who is depressed wears glasses.

Hope this helps.

The argument concludes about general public (use of words "the wearer") -- "it can be concluded that when such glasses are worn, it is because the wearer has a tendency to be depressed or hypochondriacal."

Answer choice A also seems to correctly point out author's assumption about generalizing the argument's psychological study on patients to the general public ("the wearer"). Nowhere in the argument is this link established.

[VasaVasori]

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[jmjm]

The only reason that I can think of that you might think that A would point out such a generalization is if you are confusing the conclusion again.

However, that is the point of the assumption question is it not -- the argument is expected to have holes. And, one of the holes -- the incongruence between the conclusion of the argument and a previous portion of the argument as explained in my previous post -- is handled by the the assumption in answer choice (A).

[jmjm]

Thanks for all the contributions to this thread