LSAT 151 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q7

LR Question 7 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: If rational-choice theory is correct, then people act only …

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Rational-choice theory is wrong.

REASONING: If the theory was correct, people would only do things they expect to benefit them. But people do things that result in no personal benefit.

ANALYSIS: Notice the shift from the first bit to the last bit of the stimulus. It shifts from expected benefit to actual benefit. Those are not the same thing. A person can act expecting a benefit and still end up getting none.

To properly disprove the theory, they would have to show examples of people acting in ways they don’t expect to benefit them.

So the flaw is that the argument treats actions that fail to produce benefit as if they couldn’t have been motivated by an expectation of benefit.

___________

1. No circular reasoning here.
   Example of flaw: Rational-choice theory must be false, because people do not always act from self-interest. Since people do not always act from self-interest, rational-choice theory is false.
2. The argument attacks the theory using supposed counterexamples, not because there’s insufficient evidence for the theory.
   Example of flaw: Rational-choice theory claims people only act in ways they expect will benefit them. But that’s hypothetical, so it must be wrong.
3. The flaw isn’t about actions that produce benefit. It’s about actions that don’t produce benefit.
   Example of flaw: Whenever someone acts in a way that benefits them, they must have expected that benefit. So every personally beneficial action confirms rational-choice theory.
4. “Plenty of examples” is enough for its reasoning. It doesn’t depend on relative numbers.
   Example of flaw: Since many people sometimes act without personal benefit, such actions must be more common than self-interested actions. Thus, rational-choice theory is false.
5. CORRECT. This addresses the shift from expected outcomes to actual outcomes.