LSAT 156 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q8

LR Question 8 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Historian: A democracy’s citizens must know some history if the …

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: Popular historical awareness is inevitably distorted.

REASONING: People learn history through popular narratives, and those narratives imply that a few heroes and villains shaped history.

ANALYSIS: The argument connects two ideas: people learn history through these narratives, and those narratives focus on a few key figures. From that, it concludes that people’s understanding of history is distorted.

But there’s a missing step: why does focusing on a few heroes and villains distort history?

That’s not stated. It’s assumed. The author is taking for granted that this kind of storytelling gives a misleading picture of history.

So we need something that says: presenting history as driven by a few heroes and villains leads to distortion.

___________

1. This is close, but it’s a trap. This is about the existence of a few heroes and villains, whereas the argument is about their impact.
   Negation: Historical awareness is not distorted by the view that there’s only a few famous heroes or villains.
2. The argument isn’t about all narratives, just this specific type.
   Negation: History in narrative form doesn’t always distort reality.
3. This just restates a premise, but doesn’t explain why distortion follows.
4. This is too strong because it introduces a new condition about purpose that isn’t required.
5. CORRECT. This directly links this narrative style to distortion. Without this, the conclusion doesn’t follow.
   Negation: The implication that a few heroes and villains shape all of history does not distort history.