2nd premise
Started by
hannah-gelber
· started 2020-05-25 21:08
· last activity 2020-07-28 14:13
· 1 reply
Why is this premise: "No government worthy of respect leaves minorities unprotected." Diagrammed like:
GWR ==> not LMUP
and not
not GWR ==> LMUP
if the no is before the government?
-
Victoria
· 2020-07-28 14:13
Hi @hannah-gelber,
Happy to help!
The LSAT will sometimes change the positioning of S&N indicator words in premises to try to trip you up. When you read a premise that needs diagramming, try focusing less on the exact placement of the words and focus more on what the sentence is trying to convey. No X does Y does not mean that if you are not X then you will do Y. Rather, it means that, if you are X then you will not do Y.
Therefore, the premise is not saying: "if you are not a government worthy of respect, then you leave minorities unprotected."
The premise is saying: "if you are a government worthy of respect, then you don't leave minorities unprotected."
This then allows us to connect the premise to the conclusion i.e. don't leave minorities unprotected --> allow citizens to dissent from governmental policies.
Hope this is helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions.
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