Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, bool given in /var/www/html/web/app/themes/studypress-core-theme/template-parts/header/mobile-offcanvas.php on line 20

The case of the French Revolution is typically regarded as the best evidence for the claim that societies can reap more benefit than harm from a revolution. But even the French Revolution serves this role poorly, since France at the time of the Revolution had a unique advantage. Despite the Revolution, the same civil servants and functionaries remained in office, carrying on the day-to-day work of government, and thus many of the disruptions that revolutions normally bring were avoided. Which one of the following most accurately characterizes the argumentative strategy used in the passage? (A) demonstrating that the claim argued against is internally inconsistent (B) supporting a particular position on the basis of general principles (C) opposing a claim by undermining evidence offered in support of that claim (D) justifying a view through the use of a series of persuasive examples (E) comparing two positions in order to illustrate their relative strengths and weaknesses

Short Answer

Expert verified
(C) Opposing a claim by undermining evidence offered in support of that claim.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Claim

The passage claims that revolutions can bring more benefit than harm. It uses the French Revolution as an evidence, suggesting it supports this claim due to the presence of stable civil servants during the period.
02

Identify the Argumentative Strategy

The passage argues that the French Revolution doesn't support the general claim because it was an exception rather than a rule, due to stable civil servants retaining their positions.
03

Eliminate Inconsistent Options

Option (A), (B), (D), and (E) do not fit because they describe strategies not employed in the passage. The passage doesn't show inconsistency (A), doesn't use general principles (B), doesn't provide multiple examples (D), and doesn't compare two positions (E).
04

Select the Best Characterization

Option (C) is correct because the passage undermines the evidence offered for the claim by showing it is not representative due to France's unique circumstances during the Revolution.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Argumentative Strategy
Understanding the concept of argumentative strategy is crucial when analyzing any piece of reasoning. It’s about how the author structures their arguments to convince the reader. An effective argumentative strategy may involve presenting evidence, undermining opposing viewpoints, or making logical connections between ideas.
In the passage about the French Revolution, a specific argumentative strategy is employed. Here, the strategy involves opposing a claim by questioning the strength and relevance of the evidence used to support it.
  • The claim is that revolutions bring more benefits than harm, backed by the example of the French Revolution.
  • The argument suggests this claim is faulty because the French Revolution is considered an exception due to its unique set of circumstances.
  • This strategy seeks to undermine the evidence by reflecting on unique advantages that don't typically occur in other revolutions.
This makes option (C) the best fit, as the argument’s core is built around diminishing the reliability of the cited evidence.
Evidence Evaluation
Evaluating evidence is at the heart of logical reasoning, which involves assessing whether the presented evidence effectively supports the claim. In our example, the French Revolution was used to argue that revolutions can be beneficial. However, evaluating this evidence reveals a flaw.
When assessing evidence, consider:
  • Relevance: Does the evidence directly support the claim?
  • Reliability: Are the circumstances typical or unique?
  • Sufficiency: Is there enough evidence to support the conclusion?
The passage weakens the French Revolution as evidence by showing it relied on circumstances like stable civil servants, which are rare in most revolutionary contexts. This implies that the evidence might not be sufficient or entirely reliable for supporting the broader claim about revolutions. By challenging the typicality of the French case, the passage encourages us to think critically about how we use evidence to reinforce an argument.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is your toolbox for analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information. It’s what helps you not take arguments at face value but instead dig deeper into their validity and consistency.
Applying critical thinking to the French Revolution argument involves:
  • Scrutinizing whether the Revolution is a representative case or an outlier.
  • Questioning the premises and their logical connection to the conclusion.
  • Assessing potential biases or gaps in reasoning.
When the argument states that the Revolution had less disruption due to retained civil servants, critical thinking prompts us to ask whether such a situation is commonplace in revolutions. It also makes us consider whether other revolutions might have more typical circumstances that do lead to harm. This kind of critical inquiry lets us more robustly evaluate the claim of whether revolutions generally offer more benefit than harm.
French Revolution Case Study
Diving into the French Revolution as a case study offers a fascinating glimpse into how specific historical instances can be used to argue broader societal concepts. The French Revolution (1789-1799) involved the overthrow of the monarchy, leading to France's transition to a republic. It’s often cited as an example of how revolutions can both extend freedoms and lead to social transformation.
However, as the passage points out, the situation in France was unique.
  • Unlike many revolutions, the French Revolution preserved a level of governmental continuity which mitigated potential chaos.
  • Civil servants retained their positions, ensuring that governance and daily routines were less disrupted compared to typical revolutionary scenarios.
This stabilization is a central part of the argument that France’s experience does not universally apply, hence questioning the validity of drawing broad conclusions from it.
Studying such case studies can deepen our understanding of historical events and their implications while teaching us the importance of context in drawing inferences or supporting claims.

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Famous personalities found guilty of many types of crimes in well-publicized trials are increasingly sentenced to the performance of community service, though unknown defendants convicted of similar crimes almost always serve prison sentences. However, the principle of equality before the law rules out using fame and publicity as relevant considerations in the sentencing of convicted criminals. The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following conclusions? (A) The principle of equality before the law is rigorously applied in only a few types of criminal trials. (B) The number of convicted celebrities sentenced to community service should equal the number of convicted unknown defendants sentenced to community service. (C) The principle of equality before the law can properly be overridden by other principles in some cases. (D) The sentencing of celebrities to community service instead of prison constitutes a violation of the principle of equality before the law in many catses. (E) The principle of equality before the law does not allow for leniency in sentencing.

According to sources who can be expected to know, Dr. Maria Esposito is going to run in the mayoral election. But if Dr. Esposito runs, Jerome Krasman will certainly not run against her. Therefore Dr. Esposito will be the only candidate in the election. The flawed reasoning in the argument above most closely parallels that in which one of the following? (A) According to its management, Brown's Stores will move next year. Without Brown's being present, no new large store can be attracted to the downtown area. Therefore the downtown area will no longer be viable as a shopping district. (B) The press release says that the rock group Rollercoaster is playing a concert on Saturday. It won't be playing on Friday if it plays on Saturday. So Saturday will be the only day this week on which Rollercoaster will perform. (C) Joshua says the interviewing panel was impressed by Marilyn. But if they were impressed by Marilyn, they probably thought less of Sven. Joshua is probably right, and so Sven will probably not get the job. (D) An informant says that Rustimann was involved in the bank robbery. If Rustimann was involved, Jones was certainly not involved. Since these two are the only people who could have been involved, Rustimann is the only person the police need to arrest. (E) The review said that this book is the best one for beginners at programming. If this book is the best, that other one can't be as good. So this one is the book we should buy.

It takes \(365.25\) days for the Earth to make one complete revolution around the Sun. Long-standing convention makes a year 365 days long, with an extra day added every fourth year, and the year is divided into 52 seven-day weeks. But since 52 times 7 is only 364 , anniversaries do not fall on the same day of the week each year. Many scheduling problems could be avoided if the last day of each year and an additional day every fourth year belonged to no week, so that January 1 would be a Sunday every year. The proposal above, once put into effect, would be most likely to result in continued scheduling conflicts for which one of the following groups? (A) people who have birthdays or other anniversaries on December 30 or 31 (B) employed people whose strict religious observances require that they refrain from working every seventh day (C) school systems that require students to attend classes a specific number of days each year (D) employed people who have three-day breaks from work when holidays are celebrated on Mondays or Fridays (E) people who have to plan events several years before those events occur

Sheila: Health experts generally agree that smoking a tobacco product for many years is very likely to be harmful to the smoker's health. Tim: On the contrary, smoking has no effect on health at all: although my grandfather smoked three cigars a day from the age of fourteen, he died at age ninety-six. A major weakness of Tim's counterargument is that his counterargument (A) attempts to refute a probabilistic conclusion by claiming the existence of a single counterexample (B) challenges expert opinion on the basis of specific information unavailable to experts in the field (C) describes an individual case that is explicitly discounted as an exception to the experts' conclusion (D) presupposes that longevity and health status are unrelated to each other in the general population (E) tacitly assumes that those health experts who are in agreement on this issue arrived at that agreement independently of one another

Although all birds have feathers and all birds have wings, some birds do not fly. For example, penguins and ostriches use their wings to move in a different way from other birds. Penguins use their wings only to swim under water at high speeds. Ostriches use their wings only to run with the wind by lifting them as if they were sails. Which one of the following is most parallel in its reasoning to the argument above? (A) Ancient philosophers tried to explain not how the world functions but why it functions. In contrast, most contemporary biologists seek comprehensive theories of how organisms function, but many refuse to speculate about purpose. (B) Some chairs are used only as decorations, and other chairs are used only to tame lions. Therefore, not all chairs are used for sitting in spite of the fact that all chairs have a seat and some support such as legs. (C) Some musicians in a symphony orchestra play the violin, and others play the viola, but these are both in the same category of musical instruments, namely string instruments. (D) All cars have similar drive mechanisms, but some cars derive their power from solar energy, whereas others burn gasoline. Thus, solar-powered cars are less efficient than gasoline-powered ones. (E) Sailing ships move in a different way from steamships. Both sailing ships and steamships navigate over water, but only sailing ships use sails to move over the surface.

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on English Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free