LSAT 158 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q16

LR Question 16 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Historians have found that significant intellectual …

QUESTION TYPE: Paradox

PARADOX: Intellectual advances usually happen in places with stable politics, but the opposite was true in ancient Athens.

ANALYSIS: Stability creates the right conditions for intellectual work, but there was clearly something about Athens that still allowed it to advance despite being unstable.

What benefits might a stable political system create that allow intellectual advances? Some things could be money, time etc …

The correct answer will likely tell us that Plato and Aristotle were getting such benefits from somewhere else, so they didn’t need a stable system.

___________

1. Great, political systems are different over time. That doesn’t explain why Athens still had intellectual progress during instability.
2. Respect for intellectuals is helpful, but it doesn’t really explain how progress was sustained despite instability.
3. CORRECT. This gives Athens something stability usually provides: support/resources. That explains why intellectual progress could still happen.
4. This flips the relationship and doesn’t address the issue. We care about stability leading to progress, not the other way around.
5. More thinkers doesn’t explain how the conditions for intellectual progress were met.