LSAT 136 – Section 4 – Question 22

LSAT 136 - Section 4 - Question 22

June 2012

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT136 S4 Q22
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
A
8%
160
B
6%
160
C
79%
165
D
6%
156
E
1%
154
143
152
161
 +Medium 146.121 +SubsectionMedium

Meerkat “sentinels,” so-called because they watch for predators while other meerkat group members forage, almost never fall victim to those predators, yet the foragers often do. This advantage accruing to the sentinel does not mean that its watchful behavior is entirely self-interested. On the contrary, the sentinel’s behavior is an example of animal behavior motivated at least in part by altruism. The loud bark emitted by the sentinel as it dashes for the cover of the nearest hole alerts other group members to the presence of danger.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author concludes that the meerkat sentinel’s behavior as it dashes for cover after seeing a predator is motivated at least in part by altruism. This is because by dashing for cover, the sentinel alerts group members to the presence of the predator.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author assumes that the meerkat sentinel intends to alert group members to danger when it dashes to cover. This overlooks the possibility that the sentinel solely intends to save itself, and the fact other meerkats are alerted to danger could be an unintentional side effect of dashing to save itself.

A
appealing to evidence that tends to undermine rather than support the argument’s conclusion
The evidence does not undermine the conclusion, because it doesn’t tend to suggest that the sentinel’s behavior is not altruistic. The evidence shows that the sentinel’s dashing to cover “alerts other group members to the presence of danger.”
B
appealing to evidence that presupposes the truth of the argument’s conclusion
(B) describes circular reasoning. The author’s evidence does not restate the conclusion. The conclusion asserts that the sentinel’s behavior is altruistic. The evidence does not repeat the idea that the behavior is altruistic.
C
inferring solely from an effect produced by an action that a purpose of the action is to produce that effect
The author concludes that the sentinel’s behavior is motivated by a desire to warn others of danger merely because the behavior happens to alert others of danger. This overlooks that the effect of the behavior could be unintended by the sentinel.
D
inferring solely from the claim that the behavior of a meerkat sentinel is not entirely selfish that this behavior is entirely altruistic
The author does not conclude that the behavior is “entirely” altruistic. The conclusion is that the behavior is motivated “at least in part by altruism.”
E
concluding that a claim is false on the grounds that insufficient evidence has been offered to support it
The author does not conclude that the sentinel’s behavior is partially altruistic based on a claim that there’s no evidence the behavior isn’t altruistic.

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LSAT PrepTest 136 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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