LSAT 131 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q15

LR Question 15 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: There are circumstances in which it is not immoral to make

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Parallel Reasoning

CONCLUSION: It is sometimes fine to threaten someone while asking for a favor or money.

REASONING: There are times when asking for money or a favor is fine. And there are times when making a threat is fine.

ANALYSIS: This argument takes two things that are fine on their own, but bad together. It incorrectly assumes that the fact that they are fine on their own proves they are fine together.

It may of course sometimes be fine to ask for money while threatening. E.g. if someone has legally wronged you, you might reasonably say “pay me the money you owe me, or I’ll sue you”. The point is that the two behaviors together certainly raise a red flag, and the conclusion doesn’t follow from the premises.

Note the combination should be something that is commonly known to be a bad thing to combine. E.g. Pumping gas is sometimes fine. Lighting a match is sometimes fine. But that doesn’t mean you should light a match while pumping gas! (Ask Zoolander)

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1. This is a sort of incorrect negation. It’s a flaw, but it’s a different flaw. In particular, the conclusion should have said something like “if an event is both business and social, casual dress is sometimes appropriate….”. That still wouldn’t have worked though, because there’s no common knowledge that casual dress is always bad in such circumstances.
2. This makes a different flaw. It takes a conclusion valid under specific circumstances, then says the conclusion is valid under all circumstances.
3. CORRECT. This matches, well enough. It’s common knowledge that some drugs kill you when taken in combination, even if they’re fine on their own.
   Not all drug combinations kill you of course, but like the stimulus such a combination should certainly raise a red flag. Research drugs before taking more than one!
4. This goes in the opposite direction. The stimulus said a certain combination was good. This says a certain combination is bad. Also, the stimulus only said “sometimes good”, while this is saying drugs and trucks are always bad (which is a flaw).
5. This error is an incorrect reversal. That’s a flaw, but it’s a different flaw.
   (As for how this could be false: snowfall could cause both a full river and treacherous roads, to give an example.)