PrepTest 104

[lcid:3515] Prep Test 104 LSAT — Logical Reasoning — S4 Logical reasoning

Question prompt

A just government never Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Facts

Valid or Flawed

NA

Question Type

Illustration Questions / Principle Questions

Stimulus Summary

Restricts right of citizens to act on desires that don’t directly threaten others → ~Just government
Just government → ~Restricts right of citizens to act on desires that don’t directly threaten others

Answer Anticipation

Wow, what a complicated principle presented in the stimulus! It’s exceptionally hard to diagram this out using the conditional indicator words (“never”, “except”) because of how complex each term is, and how those two indicator words interact with each other.
When that happens, take a step back, reread the principle, and figure out what judgment it’s allowing you to make, and what conditions lead to that.
Here, at the end of the day, this principle is about whether or not a government is just. A just government places restrictions on people only to protect others. An unjust government places restrictions on people even if it doesn’t protect others.
Let’s find an answer that aligns with that.

Answer choices

  1. A
    A just government would Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    This answer is about a just government, which we know means the government places restrictions on people only to protect others. This government doesn’t ban the sale of sports cars - which lines up with the principle, since owning a sports car doesn’t hurt others. This government does, however, restrict the ability to race the cars on public highways, which does protect others. Since this answer lines up with what we are told about just governments from the stimulus, it’s the correct answer.

  2. B
    An unjust government would Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    This answer is about an unjust government, which we know means the government does place restrictions on people for reasons other than protecting others. That said, this answer doesn’t really bring up restrictions being placed on people, so it’s out of scope.

  3. C
    A just government would Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    This answer is about a just government, which we know means the government places restrictions on people only to protect others. Here, however, there are no restrictions being placed on people for any reason, so it’s out of scope.

  4. D
    A just government would Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This answer is about a just government, which we know means the government places restrictions on people only to protect others. Here, the government is placing restrictions on magazines/movies (and the audience for them) for reasons other than protecting other citizens - it’s designed to protect the government. As such, this government is unjust, and this answer runs counter to the principle in the stimulus.

  5. E
    An unjust government would Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    This answer is about an unjust government, which we know means the government does place restrictions on people for reasons other than protecting others. Here, there is a restriction placed on a person, but it’s unclear whether it protects others. Maybe this incarceration protects people from further crimes; maybe it doesn’t. Since we don’t know, we can’t say whether this answer conforms to the stimulus.

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