Mayor: A huge protest against plans to build a chemical plant in this town was held yesterday. The protesters claim t...

Irina on January 7, 2020

@mamie,

The argument tells us that the protestor's "worry can be dismissed" because the protestors were paid to show up. The argument never addresses whether their claim is actually legitimate and dismisses it simply because protestors were motivated, at least in part, by financial considerations.

Let's look at the answer choices:

(A) is incorrect because the argument does not attempt to mischaracterize the view, it dismisses the view on other grounds.

(B) is incorrect because he never attempts to induce fear, there are no consequences cited if the protestors' claim is not dismissed.

(C) is correct. The argument dismisses the claim simply because of the protestors' motivation without addressing the substance of the claim.

(D) is incorrect. The argument talks about a specific instance, there is no general conclusion.

(E) is incorrect because it is irrelevant whether the result is possible (may cause health problems) or inevitable (definitely will cause) for this argument, the claim is dismissed because of the protestors' motivation, not because there is any indication of uncertainty.