I really appreciate 7Sage taking the time to expand on Knowledge with regards to MSS questions, but I can't help but deeply hate the way the LSAT takes Knowledge to imply both fact and belief. In the example given here, we just have to buy in to Norbert's foolish superstition? Because the stimulus says he knows the Firebirds will lose, we (the test taker) have to become just as stupid as he is in order to get the question right? In the future when we are all (hopefully) practicing lawyers, are we supposed to just shrug and accept that when someone "knows" something they both believe that thing and that thing is fact? No room for a rational, healthy sense of doubt? Though this is section is surely helpful for our test performance, I fail to see how this aspect of the LSAT tests our ability to be good lawyers.
EDIT: I'm also happy the 7Sage authors noted "Here's the logic (it might enrage you)". It absolutely did!
@BrandonBaker one thing i can say to that is, (depending on what path you take in your law career) you never when you might have nothing go off of, and might need have to rely on testimony. Could be a good thing to keep in mind, even if the testimony is silly it could help you and your client.
This lesson says that the problem with the banana argument is that the two-year-old might not be aware that all bananas are fruits, so she can’t make the connection from “I’m eating a banana” to “I’m eating a fruit.”
However, even if she was aware, she might not be able to draw the inference, right? She's two. So I don't think it would be valid even if it were edited to be:
"My two-year-old believes she is eating a banana. She believes that all bananas are fruits. Therefore, my two-year-old believes she is eating a fruit."
@Rena12345 You’re totally right. People can have all the ingredients for a valid inference in their heads and still fail to make the inference, either because they're irrational or because they simply haven't thought about those claims very hard.
Like let's say a teacher announces to the class that the person who gets the highest grade on Friday's test gets a free pizza. Over the weekend, the teacher grades the tests and learns Lugbert got the highest grade. It's totally possible for the teacher to just not put those two pieces together because it's the weekend and they're distracted by other things.
That’s not the facts vs. beliefs distinction, though. It’s a slightly different distinction that philosophers refer to as "fragmentation of belief" or a failure of deductive closure.
While facts vs. beliefs comes up all the time on this test, I have yet to see an LSAT question that turns on the fragmentation of belief. If you find one, though, I'll be super excited.
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5 comments
I really appreciate 7Sage taking the time to expand on Knowledge with regards to MSS questions, but I can't help but deeply hate the way the LSAT takes Knowledge to imply both fact and belief. In the example given here, we just have to buy in to Norbert's foolish superstition? Because the stimulus says he knows the Firebirds will lose, we (the test taker) have to become just as stupid as he is in order to get the question right? In the future when we are all (hopefully) practicing lawyers, are we supposed to just shrug and accept that when someone "knows" something they both believe that thing and that thing is fact? No room for a rational, healthy sense of doubt? Though this is section is surely helpful for our test performance, I fail to see how this aspect of the LSAT tests our ability to be good lawyers.
EDIT: I'm also happy the 7Sage authors noted "Here's the logic (it might enrage you)". It absolutely did!
@BrandonBaker one thing i can say to that is, (depending on what path you take in your law career) you never when you might have nothing go off of, and might need have to rely on testimony. Could be a good thing to keep in mind, even if the testimony is silly it could help you and your client.
This lesson says that the problem with the banana argument is that the two-year-old might not be aware that all bananas are fruits, so she can’t make the connection from “I’m eating a banana” to “I’m eating a fruit.”
However, even if she was aware, she might not be able to draw the inference, right? She's two. So I don't think it would be valid even if it were edited to be:
"My two-year-old believes she is eating a banana. She believes that all bananas are fruits. Therefore, my two-year-old believes she is eating a fruit."
@Rena12345 You’re totally right. People can have all the ingredients for a valid inference in their heads and still fail to make the inference, either because they're irrational or because they simply haven't thought about those claims very hard.
Like let's say a teacher announces to the class that the person who gets the highest grade on Friday's test gets a free pizza. Over the weekend, the teacher grades the tests and learns Lugbert got the highest grade. It's totally possible for the teacher to just not put those two pieces together because it's the weekend and they're distracted by other things.
That’s not the facts vs. beliefs distinction, though. It’s a slightly different distinction that philosophers refer to as "fragmentation of belief" or a failure of deductive closure.
While facts vs. beliefs comes up all the time on this test, I have yet to see an LSAT question that turns on the fragmentation of belief. If you find one, though, I'll be super excited.
@MichaelWright Update: I found one!!!