LSAT 155 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q9

LR Question 9 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Essayist: Practical intelligence is the ability to discover…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: A being that was never deprived of anything could never become practically intelligent.

REASONING: Practical intelligence is the way to discover means to ends, and it does not develop on its own.

ANALYSIS: The author’s logic is that if a being never needed to discover its own means, it would never develop the skills to do so. This is not saying that deprived is the best or most effective way to build practical intelligence. It’s saying that being deprived is the only way – “that being could never become intelligent in the practical sense”. However, there is nothing to show that this is true. We should look for an answer that supports this idea.

___________

1. This is not what the argument is saying. In fact, one thing the author says is that a being could not acquire the skill with too much help from others.
2. CORRECT. See above. If we assume this, then the conclusion must be true.
3. The author is not saying that being deprived is the best way.
4. The author is not trying to make a conclusion about how beings with practical intelligence get what they want.
5. This does not lead to the conclusion at all. We want to show that not being deprived prevents development of practical intelligence.

Recap: The question begins with “Essayist: Practical intelligence is the ability to discover”. It is a Sufficient Assumption question. Learn how to master LSAT Sufficient questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.