LSAT 158 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q2

LR Question 2 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Council president: Councilmember Smith has proposed …

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Smith’s ordinance should be disregarded.

REASONING: Smith wants to ban “bait-and-switch”, but he used to own a store that used this method.

ANALYSIS: This is a flaw you should know: ad hominem. This occurs when you attack the person making the argument, rather than the merits of their argument.

The council president never evaluates the ordinance itself or argues why banning bait-and-switch is bad. They only attack Smith’s past behavior.

A claim’s truth or value does not depend on who says it. Even if Smith is a hypocrite, the ordinance could still be a great idea (or maybe he’s learned from his past, who knows). Either way, it doesn’t matter.

___________

1. CORRECT. The president attacks Smith instead of evaluating the actual policy.
2. The president isn’t saying the ordinance is false, just that it shouldn’t be considered.
3. There’s no discussion of different types of sales tactics.
4. This is describing circular reasoning, which is a flaw but doesn’t happen here. The conclusion and reasoning here are clearly different.
5. There’s no generalization. The argument is only about Smith, not a broader group.