Cause and effect concept doubt

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hellother: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 60; Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 8:49 am; Thanked: 6 times

by hellother » Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:58 pm

Hi,
Can somebody please clarify this for me ?

Let us say : A causes B.

It says in my book that " The author assumes that A is the only cause of B " . So is it same as saying
" If A occurs, B also occurs " ? A(sufficient condition) ----> B(necessary condition) ."The author also assumes that " No alternative causes exist ie If B occurs, A also occurs." .So it is same as B(sufficient condition) ----> A(necessary condition)?
Combining we get A(sufficient condition) <------> B ( necessary condition) ??

Is this correct ? I think I am wrong because this is not explicitly stated in my book . So, if I am wrong, please clarify my question....

Thanks in advance....

Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Mon Aug 27, 2012 7:58 pm

Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2278; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:13 am

The author assumes that A is the only cause of B --> this means 'B only if A', which is not the same as 'If A occurs, B also occurs'

Honestly am not sure what it is you mean by the rest of the statements, please clarify

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hellother: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 60; Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 8:49 am; Thanked: 6 times

by hellother » Wed Aug 29, 2012 8:49 am

Ya... I get it now... So you are saying that " if B occurs, A also has occurred " .Am I right ?
One thing that confused me" was a statement in my book ...

For a " Strengthen cause and effect reasoning question ", it stated that

Strengthen the argument by using the following.
1) Show that when the cause occurs , the effect also occurs

But wouldn't it be a more appropriate statement if it were written that

"Show that when the EFFECT occurs , the CAUSE also occurs" ... according to your statement that
B occurs only if A occurs

vk_vinayak: Legendary Member; Posts: 502; Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:36 pmFollowed by: 21 members; Thanked: 99 times

by vk_vinayak » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:03 am

"Show that when the EFFECT occurs , the CAUSE also occurs"

It means that EFFECT -> CAUSE, which is not correct.

Say X is the cause and Y is the effect. We can use the symbol X -> Y to imply that X cause Y (or Y is caused by X).

Here are some ways to Strengthen X -> Y:

1. Show that whenever X occurs, Y also occurs (of course Y must occur after X has occurred)
2. Show that whenever Y occurs, X has occurred (ie X must happen before Y happens)
3. Show that X and Y DO NOT occur simultaneously (If X and Y occur simultaneously then there is no cause-and-effect)
4. Show that Y DOES NOT cause X

Hope it helps.

- VK

I will (Learn. Recognize. Apply)

hellother: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 60; Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 8:49 am; Thanked: 6 times

by hellother » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:06 am

Thanks for the reply... but isn't your 2nd point the same as

"Show that when the EFFECT occurs , the CAUSE also occurs"

mohan514: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 82; Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:33 pm; Location: india

by mohan514 » Fri Aug 31, 2012 9:48 am

go through the powerscore cr
it has a seperate chapter on these causal problems

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