Political scientists have claimed that the link between culture and democracy is
Major premise: If Catholicism is incompatible with democracy, then Catholic countries are more likely to be dictatorships than democracies.
Minor premise: Catholic countries today are more likely to be democracies than dictatorships.
Conclusion: Therefore, Catholicism is compatible with democracy.
-What form does this argument take?
A) affirming the antecedent
B) denying the antecedent
C) affirming the consequent
D) denying the consequent

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This argument takes the form of denying the consequent, which means that it assumes that if A is true, then B must be true. However, since B can also be true for other reasons besides A, it does not necessarily follow that A is true. In this argument, the major premise assumes that if Catholicism is incompatible with democracy, then Catholic countries are more likely to be dictatorships than democracies. The minor premise shows that this is not the case because Catholic countries today are more likely to be democracies than dictatorships. Therefore, the conclusion that Catholicism is compatible with democracy is reached by denying the consequent of the major premise.

Political Scientists Have Claimed That the Link Between Culture and Democracy