LSAT 108 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q8

LR Question 8 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A metaphor is the application of a word or phrase …

QUESTION TYPE: Identify the Conclusion

CONCLUSION: Not all uses of language are metaphorical.

REASONING: If all uses were metaphorical (nonliteral), then there would be no literal uses. But without literal uses, there can’t be nonliteral uses.

ANALYSIS: The author’s target is the extremists’ claim: All uses of language are metaphorical. The author rejects that claim.

So the main conclusion is that not all uses of language are metaphorical (i.e. the opposite of the extremists).

The support is: Unless some uses of words are literal, there can be no nonliteral uses. A nonliteral use depends on there being some literal use in the first place.

___________

1. CORRECT. This is exactly what the author is trying to prove.
2. The author never says this. In fact, the argument assumes there are both literal and metaphorical uses.
3. This is part of the premise that supports the conclusion, not the conclusion itself.
4. This just restates part of the definition of a metaphor from the beginning of the stimulus. Definitions are almost never the main conclusion.
5. The argument says nothing about conventions fixing meanings or about representing similarities between objects. Completely out of scope.