LSAT 155 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q18

LR Question 18 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: To achieve the traditional hotness of spicy cuisines, cooks use…

QUESTION TYPE: Parallel Reasoning

CONCLUSION: None of the traditionally used hot spices is irreplaceable.

REASONING: If food is sufficiently spiced, it is impossible to distinguish which of the traditional used spices is causing the hot sensation.

ANALYSIS: The author is arguing that, because the spices produce an effect that cannot be distinguished from each other, they are all interchangeable with no difference. This is not a very good argument – just because there is no noticeable difference in the heat produced doesn’t mean there is no other important difference between the traditionally used hot spices.

The correct answer will make a similar argument about things producing the same effect and conclude that none of them are individually necessary to produce the effect.

___________

1. CORRECT. This is the same reasoning. All of the pigments can make underwater vision possible, so the author concludes that none of them are individually necessary to produce the effect.
2. This is not even close to the argument above. The spice argument didn’t engage any of the same concepts – there was nothing about overdoing or producing a negative outcome.
3. This is a sufficient/necessary condition mistake, which isn’t what the author did.
4. The author isn’t saying that the spices are unique and irreplaceable – in fact, this is the opposite!
5. This is a very different argument as well. This is an argument that notes a necessary condition and takes the contrapositive – which is not what the spice author did.

Recap: The question begins with “To achieve the traditional hotness of spicy cuisines, cooks use”. It is a Parallel Reasoning question. Learn more about LSAT Parallel questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.