LSAT 115 – Section 2 – Question 19

LSAT 115 - Section 2 - Question 19

December 2002

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT115 S2 Q19
+LR
Strengthen +Streng
Rule-Application +RuleApp
Value Judgment +ValJudg
A
2%
155
B
5%
155
C
8%
159
D
17%
158
E
68%
164
142
154
165
 +Harder 148.811 +SubsectionMedium

Jeff: Proposed regulations concerning the use of animals in scientific experimentation would prohibit experimentation on those species that humans empathize with: dogs and horses, for example. But extensive neurological research on mammals shows that they are all capable of feeling pain, just as dogs and horses are. Hence, this proposal should be extended to all experimentation on all mammals.

Miranda: Yet the issue of pain is not the crux of the matter. Experimentation on any nonhuman animal undermines respect for life itself because only humans are capable of consenting to an experiment. Since any activity that undermines respect for life diminishes the quality of all of our lives, the new regulations should ban all such experimentation.

Summarize Argument
Jeff argues that proposed regulations on animal experimentation should be extended to all mammals. This is because all mammals are capable of feeling pain.

Notable Assumptions
Jeff assumes that all mammals who feel pain should be protected by the experimentation regulations. This means Jeff doesn’t think the regulations were brought in specifically to protect dogs and horses given the nature of experimentation performed on them. Jeff also doesn’t think that human empathy should factor into the protection a mammal receievs.

A
Regulations on the use of animals in scientific experimentation should be primarily concerned with respecting the feelings of the humans who will perform those experiments.
Irrelevant. Jeff never discusses the feelings of the humans involved.
B
Whatever means are used to determine whether dogs and horses feel pain should also be used to determine whether other animals feel pain.
We don’t care how it was determined that all mammals feel pain. We care about how that fact should affect experimentation regulations.
C
Only those experiments on animals that are known to cause those animals pain should be prohibited.
This is irrelevant. There may be other experiments that should be prohibited for other reasons, and that has no bearing whatsoever on Jeff’s argument.
D
Scientists who perform experiments on animals should empathize with any mammal as much as they empathize with dogs or horses.
We don’t care about how much scientists empathize with the subjects of their experiments. We care about the regulations that should be put in place.
E
Scientific experimentation should be prohibited on any creature that is capable of feeling pain.
According to Jeff, mammals shouldn’t be experimented on if they feel pain. His claim falls under this principle, which says no animals at all should be experimented on if they feel pain.

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LSAT PrepTest 115 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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