LSAT 149 – Section 1 – Question 08

LSAT 149 - Section 1 - Question 08

December 2017

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT149 S1 Q08
+LR
Method of reasoning or descriptive +Method
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
Net Effect +NetEff
Link Assumption +LinkA
A
1%
151
B
1%
148
C
9%
157
D
4%
154
E
85%
164
134
144
154
 +Medium 143.093 +SubsectionEasier

Lopez: Our university is not committed to liberal arts, as evidenced by its decision to close the classics department. The study of classical antiquity is crucial to the liberal arts, and it has been so since the Renaissance.

Warrington: Although the study of classical works is essential to the liberal arts, a classics department isn’t, since other departments often engage in that study.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
Lopez concludes that our university is not committed to liberal arts. He bases this on the fact that the university closed the classics department. To Lopez, studying classics is necessary for studying liberal arts.
Warrington agrees that studying classics is necessary for liberal arts, but points out that other departments besides the classics department involve studying classics. (The implication is that Lopez’s argument isn’t convincing, because the closing of the classics department does not show that the university isn’t committed to liberal arts.)

Describe Method of Reasoning
Warrington points out that an assumption Lopez made (that the classics department is the only department that studies classics) is wrong.

A
offering additional reasons in favor of the conclusion of Lopez’s argument
Warrington undermines an assumption in Lopez’s argument. He doesn’t support Lopez’s conclusion.
B
claiming that the reasoning in Lopez’s argument rests on an illicit appeal to tradition
Warrington does not claim that Lopez’s argument rests on an appeal to tradition. (Appeal to tradition involves arguing that we should do something because it’s always been done that way.)
C
mounting a direct challenge to the conclusion of Lopez’s argument
There’s no direct challenge to Lopez’s conclusion. His point is that the closing of the classic department isn’t enough to prove Lopez’s conclusion. This isn’t a direct challenge, which would require him to argue that our university IS committed to liberal arts.
D
responding to a possible objection to the reasoning in Lopez’s argument
Warrington criticizes Lopez’s argument. He does not defend Lopez’s argument from a criticism.
E
presenting a consideration in order to undermine the reasoning in Lopez’s argument
Warrington presents a consideration (that other departments study classics) to show that Lopez’s premises (the classics department was closed, and classics is crucial to liberal arts) does not prove his conclusion (that the university doesn’t care about liberal arts).

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LSAT PrepTest 149 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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