PrepTest 144, Section 1, Question 23
Passage A Karl Popper's main contribution to the(496 more words not shown)
Passage A(258 more words not shown)
Passage B(246 more words not shown)
In saying that Popper gives(22 more words not shown)
- Aextends the idea(8 more words not shown)
- Bunderestimates the significance(3 more words not shown)
- Ccommits a logical(6 more words not shown)
- Ddraws too radical(5 more words not shown)
- Eexaggerates the idea's(5 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The author's criticism is that Popper takes a valid logical distinction too far. A black swan can disprove the all-white claim, while white swans do not prove it conclusively. Popper turns that into sweeping claims that positive evidence has no value and negative evidence amounts to disproof. Hyperbolic points to that exaggeration.
Working the answers
- A
The criticism is not that the logical distinction belongs in one kind of case but is being applied to an unrelated kind. It concerns the extreme conclusion Popper draws about the evidential value of positive and negative observations.
- B
This runs in the wrong direction. Popper gives the distinction too much significance, not too little.
- C
The author accepts the basic logical asymmetry. Calling Popper's application exaggerated does not specifically accuse him of committing a logical fallacy in reasoning about that idea.
- DCorrect
Popper draws a conclusion that is too radical: positive evidence becomes worthless, and negative evidence becomes decisive. The second paragraph explains why actual scientific testing does not support that stark contrast.
- E
No particular scientific theory is the target here. Popper's claim concerns the general power of different kinds of evidence, not this distinction's special relevance to one theory.
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