LSAT 157 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q3

LR Question 3 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Bernard: We should not invite Carl to speak at the forum…

QUESTION TYPE: Point at Issue

ARGUMENTS: Bernard concludes that Carl should not be invited to speak. He claims that Carl’s views are clearly false and dangerous. He says that encouraging their consideration will legitimize and promulgate them, and says that those two things should be avoided so as to not support the views’ adoption.

Ayla says that the best way to combat false views is to publicly challenge them. She says public scrutiny will lead to convincing arguments against the views, which will help people see them for what they are.

ANALYSIS: Bernard does not want Carl to speak, because of his false views. Ayla says that false views are best combatted by public discourse. Clearly Bernard thinks that inviting Carl to speak would encourage others to adopt his false views, while Ayla believes that it would show others the falsity of the views.

___________

1. Bernard explicitly says this, but we don’t have any evidence that Ayla disagrees. It’s possible that she doesn’t think that inviting Carl to speak legitimizes his views.
2. Ayla says this, but maybe Bernard agrees with her. His concern might be that people won’t oppose Carl with “forceful counterarguments”.
3. CORRECT. Bernard clearly believes that the best way to fight these views is to suppress them. Ayla believes the opposite. She thinks that allowing their expression will show people that they are false.
4. Bernard says the false views are dangerous, but he never says that people who hold false views generally tend to pose societal danger. Ayla does not indicate an opinion one way or the other.
5. Bernard does not want to support the adoption of these dangerous ideas. It doesn’t seem like Ayla wants to encourage their adoption. She just disagrees that letting him speak will lead people to adopt his views.

Recap: The question begins with “Bernard: We should not invite Carl to speak at the forum”. It is a Point at Issue question. Learn how to master LSAT Point at Issue questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.