LSAT 159 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q3

LR Question 3 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Anthropology professor: The new class I’m offering has been listed …

QUESTION TYPE: Point at Issue

ARGUMENTS: THE PROFESSOR’S ARGUMENT: The class should be listed as anthropology, not literature. We’re not just reading novels; we’re using them to learn about different cultures.

THE DEAN’S ARGUMENT: It’s a literature class because all the readings are literature.

ANALYSIS: The professor thinks classification should depend on how the material is studied. So studying novels to learn about different cultures means it should count as anthropology.

The dean thinks the classification depends on what the material is. Since the readings are novels, the course should stay under literature.

So their disagreement is about how the class should be characterized and what determines the classification (approach or subject matter).

___________

1. Both of them agree with this. The professor says all texts are novels, and the dean repeats that all works are literature.
2. We don’t know because neither of them mentions or implies anything about dual listing. In fact, their entire argument is about how to classify it. If they agreed it could be listed as both, they probably wouldn’t be having this conversation.
3. CORRECT. The professor would agree yes, because they’re studying the novels anthropologically. The dean would disagree because he thinks the subject matter (novels = literature) determines classification.
4. We don’t know this for sure, but it sounds like both might agree with this. The dean sounds like he’s asserting the final listing, and the professor seems to be trying to convince him otherwise. We definitely can’t say they disagree on this.
5. This isn’t part of the discussion. The dean doesn’t challenge the professor’s ability to teach it, only the classification.