An ancient Pavonian text describes how an army of one million enemies of Pavonia stopped to drink at a certain lake a...
schicagoJuly 2, 2020
Counterexamples
Can you please by any chance show how a counterexample might have worked in this scenario? I often find myself struggling with the concept and I choose the wrong answers. Thank you!
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By 'counterexample,' I'm assuming that you're referring to answer choice (B) which says that the students ignored "available, potentially useful counterevidence." Please let me know if I've misinterpreted our question and I'd be happy to provide you with a better answer.
An example of what counterevidence might have looked like in this case would be if e.g. the archaeologists discovered that water-based life disappeared just after the event alleged by the text and also discovered that the region was hit by a massive drought around the same time.
If the students concluded that the enemies must have drank the lake dry, they would be ignoring the evidence which suggests that the lake may have dried up from the drought.
Basically, counterevidence just refers to evidence which counters or provides an alternate explanation for a conclusion. If someone ignores counterevidence, they draw a conclusion despite the presence of evidence which either counters said conclusion or offers an alternate explanation for it.
Hope this is helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions or need further clarification.
SamirahJanuary 25, 2021
This explanation is helpful, but I am confused about how answer choice (B) is wrong. Doesn't it also bring up alternatives which make the argument flawed?
