Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 89 - Section 2 - Question 17
February 16, 2020Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 155 - Section 2 - Question 17
February 16, 2020
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that overcoming negative emotions can cause one’s health to improve. This is based on the fact that stress is known to cause both negative emotions and worse health.
Identify and Describe Flaw
The author assumes that negative emotions cause worse health, simply because both are caused by stress. This overlooks the possibility that two things can have no causal impact on each other, even though they are both effects of a common cause.
A
It presumes without justification that two conditions that together have a certain effect causally influence one another.
The author doesn’t present “two conditions that together have a certain effect.” We’re not told that negative emotions and worse healthy together have some other effect.
B
It presumes, merely on the basis that two conditions have a common cause, that one of these two conditions can causally influence the other.
The author assumes, merely because both negative emotions and worse health have a common cause (stress), that negative emotions causally infuence health.
C
It confuses two causes that together are necessary to bring about an effect with causes that are sufficient for that effect.
The author doesn’t present “two causes that together are necessary to bring about an effect.” We’re not told that negative emotions and worse health are necessary to cause something else.
D
It takes for granted that two conditions that together have a certain effect can, each by itself, produce the same effect.
The author doesn’t present “two conditions that together have a certain effect.” We’re not told that negative emotions and worse health togethr produce an effect.
E
It takes for granted that removing a condition that causally contributes to another condition suffices to eliminate the latter condition.
The author doesn’t establish that negative emotions cause worse health. In addition, the author doesn’t conclude that overcoming negative emotions will “eliminate” any health impairments, only that it will help one’s health improve.
Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 88 - Section 4 - Question 17
November 21, 2019Answers (A), (B), and (D) would have been better (I dare say right) if they said something like:
Parents should encourage children to do something only if it doesn't make unhappy.
Parents should encourage children to do only those things that don't lead them to develop a sense of resentment.
Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 154 - Section 4 - Question 17
November 21, 2019Answers (A), (B), and (D) would have been better (I dare say right) if they said something like:
Parents should encourage children to do something only if it doesn't make unhappy.
Parents should encourage children to do only those things that don't lead them to develop a sense of resentment.
Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 88 - Section 2 - Question 17
November 14, 2019Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 154 - Section 2 - Question 17
November 14, 2019Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 87 - Section 3 - Question 17
August 16, 2019Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 153 - Section 3 - Question 17
August 16, 2019
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that lycopene reduces the risk of stroke. This is based on a study of 1,000 middle-aged people over a 12 year period, which found that participants with low levels of lycopene were more likely to have a stroke than participants higher levels of lycopene.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes there’s no other explanation for the correlation between lycopene and reduced risk of stroke.
A
Most fruits and vegetables that are rich in lycopene also contain high levels of several other nutrients that are thought likely to reduce the risk of stroke.
This suggests a potential alternate explanation for the correlation observed in the study. Maybe what reduced risk of stroke was not higher levels of lycopene, but other nutrients found in fruits/veggies that contain lycopene.
B
Countries in which people consume substantial quantities of lycopene-rich fruits and vegetables generally have lower rates of stroke than other countries.
This strengthens the argument by providing evidence that shows the correlation observed in the study is found more broadly, too.
C
Middle-aged people typically have lower lycopene levels than young adults.
This doesn’t have any impact, since we don’t know whether middle-aged people are more or less likely to have strokes than young adults. Even if we did, this might strengthen, because middle-aged people probably have more strokes.
D
Study participants with high levels of lycopene consumed, on average, twice the quantity of fruits and vegetables as those with low levels of lycopene.
This might explain how the participants with high levels of lycopene got their high levels of lycopene. But it doesn’t suggest there are alternate explanations for the lower risk of stroke.
E
There was wide variation in lycopene levels among study participants.
We know there was a correlation between higher lycopene and lower risk of stroke. This doesn’t mean everyone had similar levels of lycopene. So, (E) is consistent with the author’s reasoning.
Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 87 - Section 2 - Question 17
August 16, 2019Sign up to star your favorites LSAT 153 - Section 2 - Question 17
August 16, 2019
Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The critic believes that the recent trend to humanize vampires in entertainment is unfortunate. The critic acknowledges that the overall trend in entertainment toward moral complexity is generally a good thing, but asserts that the vampire myth should remain a powerful representation of evil because evil exists in the world.
Identify Argument Part
This claim qualifies how broadly the conclusion should be applied.
A
It states a principle used to support the conclusion of the argument.
This is not descriptively accurate. The conclusion opposes humanizing vampires.
B
It places limits on how broadly the conclusion of the argument should be generalized.
The critic acknowledges that moral complexity is generally good. However, he limits this general trend by supporting the conclusion that the humanization of vampires is unfortunate.
C
It justifies the need for the argument’s being given.
This is not descriptively accurate. The statement is not a premise, so it does not justify anything. There is also no “need” for the argument being given
D
It provides a hypothesis that is rejected in the conclusion of the argument.
The statement is not a hypothesis that is rejected. The statement is acknowledged and concedes some limitations.
E
It is the conclusion of the argument.
This is not the conclusion of the argument. It does not receive support.