Flaw AC - is this ever a possible answer?

yeahnice

Is this statement ever a possible answer? OR is this answer a self-contradictory statement.

"A factor that need not be present in order for a certain effect to arise may nonetheless be sufficient to produce that effect. "

Is this just saying it doesn't have to be sufficient but may nonetheless be sufficient...?
I'm just confused to this answer choice, what does this even mean?

kanel1995

I think that's just saying "it's not necessary, but it may be sufficient". This particular thing is not required to produce a certain other thing/event, but its presence/occurrence may
nonetheless be enough to produce that thing. I think that can be a possible correct answer.

KevinLuminateLSAT

OP, I think you confused the first part of the answer. "A factor that need not be present in order for a certain effect to occur" - this means "a factor that is not necessary for a certain effect to occur".

So putting the whole answer together, it's saying that a factor that is not necessary for a factor to occur might still be enough to produce the effect. This is a possible flaw. For example:

Premise: You don't need to take HCQ in order to recover from COVID.
Conclusion: So, you will not recover from COVID by taking HCQ.

The flaw here is that HCQ could still be sufficient for COVID recovery, even though it's not necessary.