PrepTest 104
[lcid:3515] Prep Test 104 LSAT — Logical Reasoning — S4
Logical reasoning
Question prompt
Historian: The ancient Greeks
Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right
Credited answer: D
The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.
Argument or Facts
Argument
Valid or Flawed
Flawed
Question Type
Flawed Parallel Reasoning Questions
Stimulus Summary
It’s wrong for a person to be in charge of government like in a monarchy, so it’s just as wrong for society to be in charge of government like in a democracy.
Answer Anticipation
This argument has some language that hints at a specific flaw. What language is that? It has a premise about an individual, and then a conclusion about society (which it says is a collection of individuals).
Whenever an argument talks about individuals and groups, you should start to think about a Part vs. Whole flaw. Here, the argument jumps from what is true of an individual - it’s wrong for them to have power over government - to what is true of society - it’s similarly wrong.
But we can’t make that jump. Maybe society is fundamentally different from an individual when it comes to the legitimacy of governing power.
Since this argument assigns characteristics of an individual to a group, it’s committing a Part to Whole flaw, so we should look for an answer that has the same issue. Note that we should be careful to avoid answers that jump from what is true of the whole to what is true of a part, as that reverses the illegal jump here!
Answer choices
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AThere is no point Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice A is not credited
This argument establishes a premise that if Robin can’t solve something, then none of her friends can. That directly ties what is true about Robin to what is true about her group of friends - it doesn’t assume it. It also then goes on to jump from her friends to everyone, but it doesn’t discuss whether Robin can solve it. There are issues here, but those issues aren’t a jump from a part to a whole. -
BWe should not pick Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice B is not credited
This answer uses what has been true of Hank to jump to a prediction about how useful he’ll be in the future to the relay team - that’s a separate flaw. Additionally, the argument doesn’t jump from what is true of Hank to what is true of the relay team, since it talks about whether Hank can “help” that team win - not whether they would win/lose. -
CLaws that contain exemptions Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice C is not credited
This answer discusses only individuals, no groups. When it says “anyone else,” it’s talking about each person individually, not everyone as a collective. -
DThere is no point Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice D matches the stem
This answer talks about members of a club and the club itself, so it does discuss a part and a whole. And it jumps from a premise about no member being able to afford something, to a conclusion about the club as a whole not being able to afford it. That’s a Part to Whole flaw, as it’s possible that the club could pool their money to afford the tents in a way that an individual couldn’t. This answer has the same flaw as the stimulus, so it’s the correct answer. -
EAgreeing with all of Remaining source text redacted.
Why choice E is not credited
This answer jumps from society being mistaken - the whole - to each individual in society being wrong - the part. So it’s committing a Whole to Part flaw, not the Part to Whole flaw from the stimulus.
What this tests
Discussion
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D vs E 1 reply
Started by medasmx@protonmail.com