LOGICAL REASONING: “Even If”= Premise
In flaw questions, you’ll often see an answer choice that reads, [the argument ignores the possibility that] “even if [blah blah blah], X will happen.” How to understand this sentence?
The “even if” in an answer choice to a flaw question is referring to a premise. The part that comes after the “even if” is going to be a premise of the argument. Think about it–“even if” is a way of saying, “we accept that this is true.” What do we accept as true in assumption family arguments? Premises!
Since “even if’s” often appear after question stems that read, “The argument ignores the possibility” or “The argument fails to consider,” note that these phrases are referring to the part of the answer choice that the “even if” is not modifying.
So if you have the argument:
It’s sunny outside –> Samantha won’t take her umbrella today
… and one of the answer choices is, “The argument ignores the possibility that, even if it’s sunny outside, Samantha could still be carrying an umbrella.” The part that’s being ignored is: that Samantha could still be carrying an umbrella. The premise is: it’s sunny outside.
The reason this matters is because often you can get rid of an answer choice based on how it presents the premise. It may say something like, “even if it’s raining,” which wouldn’t be right, because we don’t have a premise telling us that it’s raining. So you’d get rid of that answer. Or it might say, “even if Samantha doesn’t take an umbrella,” which would also be wrong, because that part is the conclusion, not the premise.
And in general, breaking down the abstract answer choices to flaw questions into smaller, manageable parts is the way to get your head around them. Ask: What part of the argument is this clause referring to? Is it describing it correctly? If not, the answer isn’t correct–even if there’s another part of it you don’t understand.
See, for an example of my “even if” scenario, Preptest 68, Section 2, Question 24.