LSAT 134 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q25

LR Question 25 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Sociologist: Widespread acceptance of the idea that individuals …

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: Legislators who value democracy shouldn’t propose laws that ban behavior that only harms the person doing it.

REASONING: The assumptions legislators appear to make often become widely accepted. Widespread acceptance of the idea that people can’t look after themselves harms democracy.

ANALYSIS: The argument is trying to connect proposing a certain kind of law with spreading a harmful belief.

Right now, we know:

• If people widely accept the idea that individuals can’t look after themselves, democracy is harmed
• The assumptions legislators appear to make often become widely accepted

But there’s a missing step.

The argument assumes that when legislators propose laws banning behavior that only harms the person doing it, they appear to be assuming that people can’t look after themselves.

Without that link, the argument falls apart. If proposing those laws doesn’t communicate that assumption, then it doesn’t matter that legislators’ assumptions become widely accepted.

___________

1. The conclusion only applies to legislators who value democracy. It doesn’t say nor do we need that all legislators value democracy, so this is stronger than the argument needs.
   Negation: Legislators don’t have favorable attitudes toward preserving democracy.
2. This is just restating a premise we already know. Assumptions that legislators make tend to become widely accepted, so this doesn’t add anything new.
   Negation: People don’t tend to believe what the powerful and prominent believe.
3. This says many legislators already appear to make that assumption. The argument doesn’t depend on that being true. It’s trying to say what legislators shouldn’t do, not what they currently do.
   Negation: Legislators don’t usually seem to be guided by this assumption.
4. The argument is already limited to the behavior that only harms the person engaging in it. How common that behavior is has no effect on the argument.
   Negation: This type of behavior is not that common.
5. CORRECT. This gives us the missing piece. Without this assumption, the argument has no connection between the proposed laws and the harmful belief.
   Negation: A legislator proposing such a law does not assume that individuals are incapable of looking after themselves.