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Lesson: Challenging Critical/Logical Reasoning - 08t01

Reasoning Classics: The Causal Argument, continued

[Page 8 of 24]

Let's look at the previous argument again, but this time try to identify the author's assumption. Type your answer into the Text Box, and then click Continue.

Last year the amusement park in our area replaced its steel roller coaster with a vintage-style wooden roller coaster. However, since that time, park officials have noted that attendance has dropped by 10 percent. Officials have concluded that people prefer steel roller coasters to more old-fashioned roller coasters, and that this preference has led to a decrease in attendance.

Assumption: Only the change to a wooden roller coaster could cause the decrease in attendance

Countinue

One of the underlying assumptions in causal arguments is that no other cause could have been responsible for the observed effect. In this argument, the officials assume that nothing else could have been responsible for the decrease in attendance. Is that assumption warranted?

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