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“Jayant could not reach Pune from Mumbai on last Saturday day because of non-availability of tickets”. Which of the following, if true, would support and strengthen this statement?
(i) Last Friday evening, he had booked a luxury car for 3 days for going to a picnic spot near Vasal for his boss.
(ii) He was seen at railway reservation counter requesting for a ticket for Pune on Saturday morning.
(iii) His secretary had contacted several travel agents to get a seat for Jayant on last Thursday, Friday and even Saturday morning.
(iv) Jayant attended a dinner party last Saturday evening.
(v) Jayant’s wife was reluctant to go to Pune last week
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- Only (i), (ii) and (v)
- Only (ii) and (iii)
- Only (iv) and (v)
- Only (i), (iii) and (iv)
- None of these
Correct Option: B
Here (i) weakens the statement whereas (ii) and (iii) support and strengthen the statement. But (iv) and (v) neither weaken nor strengthen the statement. In order to decide whether a statement strengthens(or weakens) an argument, follow these steps.
Step I: Break up the argument mentally. See what is the supporting premise, what is the assumption and what is the conclusion.
Step II: If a suggested statement supports any of the three it would be a strengthening statement. If it contradicts any of the three it would be a weakening statement. In order to decide which statement strengthens (or weakens) an argument the most, follow an additional step:
Step III: If a suggested statement supports (or weakens) the basic assumption of an argument, it would be the most strengthening (weakening) argument. Or If a suggested statement provides a very strong proof (or contradictory proof) in favour of (or in contradiction to) the conclusion of the argument, it would be the most strengthening (or weakening) statement.
