LSAT 118 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q6

LR Question 6 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Although we could replace the beautiful – but dilapidated …

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: We should build the more expensive cable bridge rather than the cheaper concrete skyway.

REASONING: Preserving the beauty of the river crossing justifies paying the additional cost.

ANALYSIS: We have two options:

1. Concrete skyway (cheaper)
2. Cable bridge (more expensive)

The author thinks we should choose the cable bridge. Why? Because preserving beauty justifies spending the extra money.

But who said the cable bridge is more beautiful than the concrete skyway? We only know which one’s more expensive. We don’t know which one’s more beautiful.

So the author’s reasoning depends on the idea that the cable bridge actually does a better job of preserving beauty than the concrete skyway.

Because if that’s not true, the argument completely falls apart. Why pay extra for beauty if the more expensive option isn’t actually more beautiful?

___________

1. Nothing requires maintenance costs to be equal. Even if cable maintenance were higher, the author could still believe beauty justifies that.
   Negation: It is more costly to maintain a cable bridge than a concrete skyway.
2. Too strong. The argument doesn’t require that the skyway have no practical advantages. It only claims beauty outweighs the cost difference. Maybe the skyway offers other practical benefits, but the author just cares about beauty.
   Negation: The skyway would have at least one practical advantage over the cable bridge.
3. This is crazy. This would mean that, even if we’re in a nuclear war, we have to preserve the beauty! The argument only says beauty is important enough to justify extra costs during renovations. Not that preservation is absolutely mandatory under all circumstances.
   Negation: The beauty of the river crossing does not have to be preserved.
4. Public approval is irrelevant. The argument is based on the author’s judgment about aesthetics, not majority opinion.
   Negation: Half or fewer of the people who see it will think the extra money was well spent.
5. CORRECT. This bridges the gap between “beauty matters” and “choose the cable bridge.” If the cable bridge wasn’t more aesthetically pleasing, then you can’t justify the extra cost based on beauty.
   Negation: The cable bridge would not be more aesthetically pleasing than the skyway.