LSAT 140 – Section 3 – Question 14

LSAT 140 - Section 3 - Question 14

December 2013

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT140 S3 Q14
+LR
Sufficient assumption +SA
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
Link Assumption +LinkA
Value Judgment +ValJudg
A
6%
157
B
75%
167
C
3%
158
D
8%
159
E
8%
159
147
155
163
 +Harder 149.74 +SubsectionMedium

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Some theorists argue that literary critics should strive to be value-neutral in their literary criticism. These theorists maintain that by exposing the meaning of literary works without evaluating them, critics will enable readers to make their own judgments about the works’ merits. But literary criticism cannot be completely value-neutral. Thus, some theorists are mistaken about what is an appropriate goal for literary criticism.

Summary
The author concludes that literary critics should NOT try (strive) to be value-neutral in their literary criticism. This is based on the fact that literary criticism cannot be completely value-neutral.
If you didn’t understand the conclusion in the way described above, then you probably didn’t translate what it means for the theorists to be “mistaken about what is an appropriate goal for literary criticism.” The first sentence said the theorists argue that striving to be value-neutral was an appropriate goal. If those theorists are mistaken, that means striving to be value-neutral is NOT an appropriate goal.

Missing Connection
Does the fact that literary critics can’t be value-neutral prove that they shouldn’t TRY to be value-neutral? No. Why shouldn’t we strive for the impossible? To make the argument valid, we want to establish that if something can’t be done, then literary critics shouldn’t try to do it.

A
Any critic who is able to help readers make their own judgments about literary works’ merits should strive to produce value-neutral criticism.
(A) supports a conclusion that certain critics SHOULD try to produce value-neutral criticism. But we want to establish that critics should NOT try to produce value-neutral criticism.
B
If it is impossible to produce completely value-neutral literary criticism, then critics should not even try to be value-neutral.
(B) gets us from the premise to the conclusion. If, as the premise establishes, it’s impossible to produce completely value-neutral criticism, then the conclusion must be true — critics shouldn’t try to be value-neutral.
C
Critics are more likely to provide criticisms of the works they like than to provide criticisms of the works they dislike.
(C) doesn’t establish that critics shouldn’t try to do something. Learning about what critics are more likely to do doesn’t establish what they should not do.
D
The less readers understand the meaning of a literary work, the less capable they will be of evaluating that work’s merits.
(D) doesn’t establish that critics shouldn’t try to do something. What readers understand or are capable of might relate to the theorists’ support for their own view. But it doesn’t connect the author’s premise to the conclusion.
E
Critics who try to avoid rendering value judgments about the works they consider tend to influence readers’ judgments less than other critics do.
(E) doesn’t establish that critics shouldn’t try to do something. Whether and how critics influence readers’ judgments might have some relationship to the theorists’ support for their view. But it doesn’t connect the author’s premise to the conclusion.

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LSAT PrepTest 140 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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