Reasoning - Statement and Conclusions | General Test Preparation for CUET - CUET Commerce PDF Download

Introduction

The section called Statement and Conclusion involves logical reasoning. It presents a statement followed by several conclusions, and you must select the one that is most logically consistent with the statement. The conclusions may be explicit or require analysis to determine. It is possible for any number of conclusions to follow or for none of them to follow. The reader's ability to analyze the statements is essential in arriving at the correct conclusion.

For Example −

Statement − All dogs are mammals.

Conclusions −
I. All mammals are dogs.
II. Cats are not mammals.

A - Only conclusion I is valid.
B - Only conclusion II is valid.
C - Either conclusion I or II is valid.
D - Neither conclusion I nor II is valid.
E - Both the conclusions are not valid.

Explanation: 

The statement "All dogs are mammals" means that every dog is a type of mammal.
Conclusion I, "All mammals are dogs", is incorrect because while all dogs are mammals, not all mammals are dogs. There are many other types of mammals, such as cats, horses, and humans.
Conclusion II, "Cats are not mammals", is also incorrect because cats are, in fact, mammals. So this conclusion is clearly false.
Therefore, neither of the conclusions follow from the statement "All dogs are mammals". The correct answer is D - Neither conclusion I nor II is valid.

Note:

While solving this type of problems, we have to assume whatever has been told in the statement is true. For instance, in the above example if it would have been told that “A cup of tea keeps the doctor away”, for us this would be the true statement.

Do not assume anything outside the given statement. That means while solving the above example, we encountered a statement “Orange is better than apple”. May be it is true but for us it is not. This is because nothing has been told about orange in the given statement. So we cannot assume it as true sentence.

Type  of Conclusion

Direct Conclusion:
The concept of direct conclusions refers to conclusions that can be easily inferred from a given statement without the need for further analysis. These statements are typically straightforward and easy to understand. An example can help illustrate this concept more clearly.

Statement - All mammals have fur.

Conclusions -
I. Elephants have fur.
II. Dogs have fur.

A - Only conclusion II is valid.
B - Only conclusion I is valid.
C - Both conclusions I and II are valid.
D - Neither conclusion I nor II is valid.
E - Either conclusion I or II is valid.

Explanation - The given statement asserts that all mammals have fur. Therefore, it is directly concluded that dogs have fur, as dogs are one type of mammal. Thus, conclusion II is valid.
However, conclusion I is not valid because elephants, despite being mammals, do not have fur. Instead, they have hair and bristles. Therefore, it is incorrect to directly conclude that elephants have fur.
Therefore, the correct answer is option B - Only conclusion I is valid.

Indirect Conclusion:
Indirect conclusions require the reader to carefully analyze the given statement and use logical reasoning to arrive at a conclusion that is related to the statement. These types of problems require a close examination of the statement and a logical approach to reach a conclusion. An example can help illustrate this concept more clearly.

Statement - John only eats fruits that are red in color.

Conclusions -
I. John likes strawberries.
II. John doesn't like oranges.

Explanation - To arrive at a conclusion, we need to analyze the statement given. The statement says that John only eats fruits that are red in color. So, the direct conclusion we can derive from this statement is that John will not eat any fruits that are not red in color. Thus, conclusion II is valid.
As for conclusion I, we can derive an indirect conclusion. Strawberries are red in color, so it is possible that John likes strawberries. However, the statement does not explicitly mention whether John likes strawberries or not. Therefore, conclusion I is not directly derived from the statement, but can be assumed based on the information provided.
So, the answer is option B - only conclusion II is valid.

Different Types of Cases

Let’s see various cases in which different types of the above options will be our answers. For easy understanding, we will try to analyse with a common example.

Case-1 (Only conclusion II is valid)

Statement − All roses are flowers.
Conclusions −
I. All flowers are roses.
II. Some flowers are roses.
Explanation − The given statement clearly states that all roses are flowers, but it doesn't imply that all flowers are roses. It is possible that there are other types of flowers as well. However, some flowers being roses is definitely possible. Therefore, conclusion II is valid, but conclusion I is not.

Case-2 (Either conclusion I or II is valid)
Statement − Some birds can fly very high.
Conclusions −
I. All birds can fly.
II. No bird can fly low.
Explanation − The given statement implies that some birds can fly high, but not all birds. So, conclusion I is not valid. However, it does not mention anything about birds flying low, so conclusion II is also not valid. Therefore, in this case, either conclusion I or II is valid.

Case-3 (Neither conclusion I nor II is valid)
Statement − Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Conclusions −
I. All liquids boil at 100 degrees Celsius.
II. Water only boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Explanation − The given statement only applies to water and not to all liquids, so conclusion I is not valid. Similarly, the statement does not imply that water only boils at 100 degrees Celsius, as other factors such as pressure can also affect the boiling point. Therefore, conclusion II is also not valid. In this case, neither conclusion I nor II is valid.