Global ecological problems reduce to the problem of balancing supply and demand. Supply is strictly confined by the e...

SamA on June 18, 2020

Hello @kzman29,

First, I would keep an eye out for conclusion indicators. You will see these words/phrases appear frequently, and they usually point to the conclusion:

Therefore
Thus
So
I conclude / It can be concluded
Hence
It follows that...

In the question that you provided here, "therefore" tells us that the last sentence is the conclusion.

However, you cannot always rely on these indicators, because they are not always present. This is why you have to really understand the relationship between premise and conclusion. To put it simply, the premise supports the conclusion. Every conclusion requires support. Often, a conclusion by itself will leave you asking, "why?" or "how?" The premise answers this question.

Even without the indicator, we should be able to tell that the last sentence is the conclusion. Think of it this way:

Conclusion: Any solutions require reducing human demand.
Why?
Premise: Because supply is limited but demand is not.

This makes sense, because the premise supports the conclusion. Notice that it would not work the other way around. The conclusion does not support the premise. Consider this relationship between premise and conclusion next time you have trouble identifying the conclusion.

kzman29 on June 19, 2020

Are there practice questions to help with conclusion of arguments?

jp24 on September 30, 2023

How can we possibly know demand exceeds Earth's natural supply limitations (answer choice C) if we cannot determine what those limitations are in the first place (answer choice B)? I obviously understand why C is correct, however, I don't see how B is not required to calculate what answer C is suggesting.

Determining the "limitations" tells me we know the maximum available. If we say demand is exceeding this measurement, I would assume we must know the maximum, otherwise, how can we be so sure demand is "exceeding" supply?

And how can I avoid picking B prematurely without reading C through E as your instructors suggest?

Thanks.

Emil-Kunkin on October 3, 2023

While necessary assumption questions are closely related to must be true questions, they aren't exactly asking what must be true, but rather what the author must believe to be true in order for their argument to work. As you noted, the author does indeed have to think that demand exceeds the possible supply. That said we don't really need to know where a limit is to know that it has been violated. I may not know what the specific speed limit is, but if a car blows past me at 110, I can say that he violated the limit. We may not be able to determine what conduct is and is not moral in warfare, but there are some obvious cases that exceed that limit, even if that limit is not possible to define.

I would generally try to find a way to weasel out of an answer choice as if you were the author. If you can weasel out of agreeing with an answer choice, then it doesn't have to be something the author agrees with.