Critic: "Works of historical research published by mainstream publishers are less likely to be cited by other academics than those published by the academic press. Clearly, it appears that academics are strongly prejudiced against mainstream works, and judge historical works in the mainstream press as having no academic merit."
The critic's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it
A)Argues against a counterargument that does not exist.
B)Relies on an ad hominem attack to discredit mainstream publishers.
C)Fails to consider the possibility that mainstream historical publications have less academic merit than others.
D)Fails to consider the possibility that mainstream publishers are prejudiced against serious academics.
E)Uses circular logic to arrive at its conclusion.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The critic's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it fails to consider the possibility that mainstream historical publications do have less academic merit than others. The argument claims that the lack of future citations for mainstream publications must be due to prejudice on the part of academics, but that prejudice does not necessarily exist if the works in question actually have less academic merit than others.

Critic: "Works of Historical Research Published by Mainstream Publishers Are