Beliefs v facts: a WTF conundrum

itsemmarobyn

This flaw sucks. I've been trying to understand the logical gap, but it's so subtle. I've made up this example to try and explain how I think it works (because J.Y.'s example in the core curriculum made no sense to me) but I'm still confused.

Example: A cat is a small predator that murders its victims for food and pleasure. Anna knows that Brenda owns a cat named Voldemort. Therefore, Anna knows that Voldemort is a small predator that murders its victims for food and pleasure.

What I think is going on here is that flaws of this type are exploiting a subtle assumption we make about what something is or may be and what the subject believes to be true. In the context of this example, maybe Anna thinks Voldemort is a fluffy tabby that purrs when cuddled and eats food dished out of a can (i.e. V is not a murderer). So, if this were a stimulus, the correct answer choice would be something like: "Fails to distinguish between Voldemort being a small predator and Anna's believing Voldemort to be a small predator..."

Is this right or am I totally off the mark?

lincoln_1997

I think you're on the right track. The flaw in the example you provided is that just because we (the readers) are knowledgeable of the fact that cats are vicious predators, Anna does not necessarily know this fact. If Anna does not know this fact, then we cannot say that she knows Brenda's cat is a vicious predator, she merely knows that Brenda owns a cat.

A similar example, related to this type of flaw and which appeared in one of the early LSATs, goes something like this:

The bank processes all checks on the very day they were dropped off as long as they were dropped off before 3pm. Mike dropped off his check at 2pm, therefore Mike knows that his check will be processed today.

In this case, we don't know that Mike knows his check will be processed. All we know is that (1) Mike dropped off the check and (2) it will be processed today. We have no awareness of what is going on in Mike's head.

Does that help?

itsemmarobyn

@sammiturco yes that helps so much, thank you