LSAT 158 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q10

LR Question 10 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Historian: In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries …

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Swahili culture was influenced by Oromo culture.

REASONING: The Swahili built tombs with features also found among the Oromo, and not among any other group they interacted with.

ANALYSIS: How do we know the Swahili didn’t come up with it?

We’re not told anything about when the Oromo built their tombs. If it was after the 14-15th centuries, then maybe they were inspired by the Swahili.

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1. Even if the Oromo used the structures differently, the shared features could still suggest influence.
2. We don’t know when both events occurred. That’s the issue.
   Example of flaw: The Swahili built theirs in 1501 and the Oromo built theirs in 1450. So the Oromo’s construction must have caused the Swahili’s.
3. This is describing a conclusion that’s too modest based on the evidence, but that’s not what’s happening here.
4. This is tempting, but we already know that no other group that the Swahili interacted with had similar tombs. So that rules out this possibility.
5. CORRECT. The argument assumes the Oromo practice came first, but doesn’t actually provide any information on this.