Multiple choice

I. Everyone who has not read the report either has no opinion in the matter or holds a wrong opinion about it. II. Everyone who holds no opinion in the matter has not read the report.Which of the following best describes the relationship between the two above propositions?

  1. If II is true, I may be either false or true.

  2. If II is true, I must also be true.

  3. If II is true, I is likely to be true.

  4. If I is true, II must also be true.

  5. If I is false, II must also be false.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

(1) The form of the argument can be represented using letters as:

I.          All R are either O or W (All non-Readers are non-Opinion holders or Wrong.)
II.         All O are R. If II is true, I might be either false or true, since it is possible that there are some who have not read the report who hold right opinions. That is, even if II is true and all O are R, that does not tell us anything about all the R's, only about all the O's. The rest of the R's might be W's (wrong-opinion holders) or something else altogether (right-opinion holders).

Keep practicing — related questions