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Deductive reasoning from a universal statement – ‘‘All educated people read newspapers’’ and an individual case ‘‘Rahul does not read newspaper’’ – determine which conclusions follow.

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: Only conclusion I follows

Explanation:

Premises: All educated people read newspapers (Educated ⟶ Reads). Rahul does not read a newspaper (¬Reads(Rahul)). Conclusions: (I) Rahul is not educated. (II) Reading newspaper is not essential to be educated.


Concept/Approach
Use contrapositive-style reasoning: If all A are B, any non-B cannot be A. Then assess whether the second conclusion contradicts the given universal.
Evaluate Conclusion I
From Educated ⟶ Reads and ¬Reads(Rahul) ⇒ ¬Educated(Rahul). Thus I follows.
Evaluate Conclusion II
The premise states reading is necessary for being educated. Saying it is ‘‘not essential’’ contradicts the premise; II does not follow.
Common pitfalls
Treating ‘‘All A are B’’ as if it allowed exceptions. It does not; one counterexample forces ‘‘not A.’’
Final Answer
Only conclusion I follows.
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