LSAT 159 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q16

LR Question 16 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Some have argued that once it becomes necessary for us to think …

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: The suggested criterion for ascribing beliefs and desires to computers is flawed.

REASONING: If we applied the proposed rule, it would imply that current computers have beliefs and desires, which shows that the rule must be wrong.

ANALYSIS: The author takes someone else’s rule (“we can say computers have beliefs and desires once we need to think of them that way”) and applies it to the real world. Doing so leads to a result that seems obviously false: that today’s computers already have beliefs and desires. Because that outcome is unacceptable, the author concludes the rule must be flawed.

So the statement “the computers that exist now have beliefs and desires” isn’t something the author actually believes. It’s a hypothetical consequence of the other side’s principle.

___________

1. CORRECT. The author rejects the criterion others have suggested because it implies a conclusion (this statement) that’s clearly false.
2. The author thinks the conclusion is absurd, not uncontroversial. It’s clearly controversial if the author’s arguing against it.
3. It’s not meant to clarify or illustrate how the criterion works. It’s used to attack it.
4. The main conclusion is that the criterion is flawed, not that computers have beliefs and desires.
5. The argument depends on this claim being false, not true. It’s the bad outcome the author uses to prove the rule wrong.