Free EA Practice Question

Question 1 of 1
ID: EA-CR-4
Section: Verbal Reasoning - Critical Reasoning
Topic: Method of Reasoning
Difficulty level: Easy

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In his recent newspaper article, Smith holds three senior local administrators responsible for the upsurge of racial unrest in Haytown during the past decade. However, it is clear that Smith's claims cannot be trusted since he is known for his antigovernment attitude and has filed - and lost - many lawsuits against the local government bodies. Also, a local business owned by him went bankrupt five years ago due to a week-long curfew imposed after racial violence in the town; he had launched an ultimately futile public campaign at that time to force the same three administrators to recuperate his losses from their own pocket.

The argument is flawed by virtue of having committed which one of the following errors of reasoning?

AIt fails to offer any evidence for the doubt it casts on the credibility of a person.

BIt confuses assertions about an individual’s past behavior with assertions about his future behavior.

CIt presents the cause as the effect, and vice-versa.

DIt regards an attack on the source of a claim to be a sufficient rebuttal for that claim.

EIt assumes that because an individual failed in one endeavor, he cannot be successful in another, very different, endeavor.

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