LSAT 17 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q20

LR Question 20 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Morton: In order to succeed in today’s society, one must…

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: One needs a college degree to succeed in today’s society.

REASONING: Some people without a college degree may appear successful. But without a college degree they are not educated enough to be successful.

ANALYSIS: This argument is completely circular. It says you need a college degree for success. Then it defines success in terms of having a college degree.

___________

1. CORRECT. Yes. There is no evidence given apart from the conclusion.
2. There is no correlation mentioned, only a precondition (college is needed for success.)
3. Which individual cases are mentioned? (The many people who seem successful are not individual cases)
4. The argument did consider the counterexamples (the allegedly successful people.) It judged that they weren’t actually successful.
5. The argument hasn’t mentioned what most people believe. This may sound like circular reasoning but it’s actually the error of mistaking popular belief for proven fact.

Recap: The question begins with “Morton: In order to succeed in today’s society, one must”. It is a Flawed Reasoning question. Learn more about LSAT Flaw questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.