OE


An ingenious yet invalid argument would amount to a dissimulation of the truth, but simple dissimulation, or deceiving, would not lead to the very specific aims Stephens has "to create an ingenious yet invalid argument?' Option A, then, can be eliminated. Option B can also be eliminated as it is unlikely Stephens employs hubris or pride to create an ingenious yet invalid argument. Sophistry (C), however, has been employed since the time of the ancient Greek sophists whose specialty was creating ingenious yet invalid arguments aimed at getting readers or listeners to agree with them. Option C, then, is the correct answer. If students from the lower socio-economic echelons are penalized, and their peers who don't have to serve can buy their way out of the proposed youth service program, we can safely assume that the latter are affluent youth from socio-economically advantaged families. Erudite (D) can be eliminated as erudite means learned, not socio-economically advantaged. These peers, furthermore, may or may not show off their wealth; the passage does not tell us if they are ostentatious (E). These peers, however, could be described as patrician (F) or deriving from the refined or wealthier class, making F the correct answer.