LSAT 105 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q6

LR Question 6 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: We should do what will make others more virtuous …

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

FACTS:

1. We should do what makes others more virtuous and avoid what makes them less virtuous.
2. Praise makes less virtuous people more virtuous.
3. Praise makes more virtuous people less virtuous.
4. Only the more virtuous deserve praise.

ANALYSIS: This is a lot. For clarity’s sake, let’s name [more virtuous people] apples and [less virtuous people] bananas. The facts rewritten look like this:

1. We should do what makes others more virtuous and avoid what makes them less virtuous.
2. Praise makes bananas more virtuous.
3. Praise makes apples less virtuous.
4. Only apples deserve praise.

So, only apples deserve praise. But according to our principle (fact 1) we shouldn’t praise apples, because it makes them less virtuous. And according to the principle, we should praise bananas because it makes them more virtuous. But bananas don’t deserve praise.

This is the irony the stimulus refers to. We should praise people that don’t deserve praise and refrain from praising people who do deserve praise.

___________

1. There’s no “deserving it least”. Either you deserve it or you don’t.
2. This goes against the argument. Apples deserve praise the most, but we shouldn’t praise apples because it makes them less virtuous.
3. CORRECT. See discussion above.
4. We shouldn’t do things that make people less virtuous. And praise does make some people less virtuous. So we shouldn’t praise these people, so no, we shouldn’t praise everyone.
5. This is the reverse of D. We should do what makes people more virtuous. And praise makes some people more virtuous. So we should praise these people, so no, we shouldn’t withhold praise from everyone.