Can any research be found to validate the contention that those who spend time plucking out their gray hairs have mor...

emilydemmer August 31, 2019

Which sentence is the conclusion?

Hi, For the passage, I found both a supporting conclusion as well as a main conclusion. I got the answer incorrect initially, and I just wanted to know what the actual conclusion was so that I can work backwards to understand why my reasoning was off!

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Ravi September 9, 2019

@emilydemmer,

The main point is "there is no necessary connection." We know this is
the main point because it's what the whole stimulus is designed to
support.

The premises supporting this main point are "Certainly it is
reasonable to like the elderly yet dislike the idea of impaired
eyesight and hearing. Furthermore, holding negative attitudes toward
older people merely because they are old is immoral" and "there is
nothing immoral about disliking some concomitants of the aging
process."

Which other phrase did you think might have been the main point?
Here's a strategy you can employ to help you be certain of what the
main point is in a particular question:

To find the main point (conclusion), always think to yourself of what
sentence or phrase is being supported by the rest of the stimulus.
Additionally, if you're stuck and can't figure out the conclusion
between two sentences, a good trick is to put the word "because" in
between the sentences and then see which way makes more sense.

The premises will always be providing support to another sentence or
phrase in the stimulus. Sometimes, you'll encounter intermediate
conclusions/major premises/subsidiary conclusions. These are all terms
for premises that function as both a conclusion as well as a premise
for another larger conclusion in the stimulus. Ultimately, the main
conclusion of the stimulus will not be supporting anything else; the
rest of the stimulus will be supporting it.

Conclusion: the overall main point of the argument

Premise: support used to prove or attempt to prove the conclusion

Subsidiary Conclusion/Intermediate Premise: a piece of the argument
that functions as both a conclusion and a premise; it's a conclusion
that is supported by another premise, but it's also used as a premise
to support the overall (main) conclusion of the argument

Does this help? Let us know if you have any other questions!