Columnist: If you received an unsigned letter, you
would likely have some doubts about the truth of
its contents. But news stories often include
statements from anonymous sources, and these
are usually quoted with the utmost respect. It
makes sense to be skeptical of these sources, for,
as in the case of the writer of an unsigned letter,
their anonymity makes it possible for them to
plant inaccurate or slanted statements without
ever having to answer for them.
The columnist's argument proceeds by
(A) pointing out that a certain attitude would
presumably be adopted in one situation, in
order to support the claim that a similar
attitude would be justified in an analogous
situation
(B) drawing an analogy between an attitude
commonly adopted in one situation and a
different attitude commonly adopted in another
situation, and establishing that the latter
attitude is better justified than the former
(C) inferring that an attitude would be justified in all
situations of a given type on the grounds that
this attitude is justified in a hypothetical
situation of that type
(D) calling into question a certain type of evidence
by drawing an analogy between that evidence
and other evidence that the argument shows is
usually false
(E) calling into question the motives of those
presenting certain information, and concluding
for this reason that the information is likely to
be false