GRE General TestAnalytical WritingHard
A politician asserts that a proposed tax cut will stimulate the economy and create thousands of jobs, citing a similar tax cut enacted in a different country that was followed by economic growth. What logical weakness is most apparent in the politician's argument?
- AHasty generalization.
- BBegging the question.
- CFaulty analogy.
- DAppeal to tradition.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Faulty analogy.
The politician is drawing a parallel between two situations (tax cuts in different countries) and assuming that what happened in one will happen in the other. If the two countries' economic conditions, structures, or other relevant factors are significantly different, then the analogy is faulty and the conclusion may not hold.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Hasty generalization involves drawing a conclusion from an insufficient or unrepresentative sample, which isn't the primary flaw here.
- B. Begging the question (circular reasoning) assumes the conclusion in the premise, which is not the case here.
- D. Appeal to tradition argues that something is good or true because it's old or has always been done that way, which isn't happening.
Faulty Analogy
A faulty analogy is a logical fallacy where an argument relies on a comparison between two things that are not sufficiently alike to warrant the conclusion drawn from the comparison.
- Assumes that if two things are similar in some respects, they are similar in all relevant respects.
- The differences between the compared items outweigh their similarities.
- Undermines the validity of the conclusion drawn from the comparison.
Memory trick: Fallacies FAIL to follow facts.